The Military Plane Transporting Malawi’s Vice President is Still Missing

According to President Lazarus Chakwera, soldiers are scouring the mountainous jungles close to a city in northern Malawi after a military plane carrying the nation’s vice president and former first lady vanished there on Monday.

The plane carrying the 51-year-old vice president Saulos Chilima, the former first lady Shanil Dzimbiri, and eight other people took off at 9:17 a.m. from Lilongwe, the capital of southern Africa. It was predicted to land at Mzuzu International Airport, roughly 370 kilometers (230 miles) to the north, 45 minutes later.

However, due to inclement weather and low visibility, air traffic control advised it to turn around rather than make a landing, according to Chakwera, who made the announcement live on state television station MBC.

He claimed that shortly after air traffic control lost communication with the aircraft, it vanished from radar.

“I am aware that this is a terrible circumstance. I am aware that we are all scared and worried. “I am also worried,” Chakwera remarked. However, I want to reassure you that I am using every resource at my disposal to locate that aircraft. And I’m clinging to every strand of hope that we can locate survivors.

The capital and third-largest city in Malawi is Mzuzu, which also serves as the region’s hub. It is situated in a mountainous, wooded region that is dominated by the Viphya mountain range, which is home to enormous pine plantations.