Malawi Vice President Dead in Plane Crash

Picture courtesy: (Getty) Malawi’s Vice President, Saulos Chilima lost his life alongside nine people who were traveling with him in a plane crash.

(The Post News)- The country’s President, Lazarus Chakwera, announced Tuesday, June 11, in a national address in the Malawian capital that Malawi’s Vice President, Saulos Chilima, lost his life alongside nine people who were travelling with him in a plane crash.

The remains of the plane were discovered after it failed to stop at the Mzuzu International Airport, located approximately 380 km (240 miles) north of the capital, Lilongwe.

The search and rescue operation ordered to locate the missing plane, which was ultimately discovered by the vice president, revealed that the aircraft was completely destroyed near a hill in Chikangawa, northern Malawi.

Unfortunately, the plane crashed, resulting in the deaths of vice president Saulos Chilima and the nine people who were inside the plane.

He added, saying that the words cannot describe how heartbreaking this was.

Chakwera argued while paying tribute to his deputy, stating that he was a good man, a wonderful father and husband, and a citizen who worked hard for his country with distinction.

“His death is a terrible loss to his family, friends, colleagues in the cabinet, and the nation,” he said.

The president also mourned the deaths of the other passengers on board.

The Malawian leader provided details about the tragic nature of the accident, saying that he had in the past travelled on the same aircraft.

Regardless of the track record of the aircraft and the knowledge of the crew, something terrible went wrong with that aircraft on its flight back to Lilongwe.

On Monday evening, June 10, the president stated that air traffic control had warned the vice president’s plane against trying to land and argued they should turn back to the capital due to poor visibility.

After the warning, the authorities lost contact with the aircraft, and an immediate search operation began.

The Malawi Defence Force argued that it had deployed drones and soldiers to look for the plane at the Chikangawa Forest Reserve, where signals of its whereabouts were last received.

The Force Commander, Paul Valentino Phiri, added that search operations were delayed due to bad weather conditions.

The remains of the vice president and nine other victims arrived on Tuesday and will all be laid to rest in a dignified manner.

According to a statement from the president’s office, the country will be in mourning for 21 days. The mourning period will begin on June 11 and last until July 1.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated that he was very saddened to learn about the plane crash. He paid tribute, sending his condolences to their families, including the people of Malawi.

Chilima, 51, had gone back to Malawi on June 6 after attending the Korea-Africa Summit in Seoul the previous week.
He first worked as a deputy to former President Peter Mutharika in 2014 and 2019 before serving as vice president for a second time in 2020. An economist, he was the head of Airtel Malawi, the first Malawian to lead the telecommunications company.

In the meantime, the investigation regarding the plane crash is underway.