Johannesburg – Malawi authorities have launched a search and rescue mission for the missing aircraft carrying Vice President Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima and nine others.
In a statement Monday, Colleen Zamba, Secretary to the President and Cabinet said: “The office of the President and Cabinet wishes to inform the general public that the Malawi Defence Force Aircraft that left Lilongwe today, Monday 10 June 2024 at 09:17 hours carrying the Vice President, the Right Honourabe Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima, and nine others, failed to make its scheduled landing at Mzuzu International Airport at 10:02”.
The statement added: “All efforts by the aviation authorities to make contact with the aircraft since it went off the radar have failed thus far.
“As such, the commander of the Malawi Defence Force, General Valentino Phiri, has since informed His Excellency Dr. Lazarus McCarty Chakwera of the incident, and the President has since canceled his scheduled departure for the Bahamas.”
President Chakwera has ordered all regional and national agencies to conduct an “immediate search and rescue operation to locate the whereabouts of the aircraft”.
Zamba said the public will be updated on any developments on the situation as facts are established.
