A military plane carrying Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima, a former first lady and eight other people went missing on Monday and the search was underway, the president’s office said.
The plane carrying Saulos Chilima, 51, and former first lady Shanil Dzimbiri left the capital, Lilongwe, but did not land 45 minutes later as planned at Mzuzu International Airport, about 370 kilometres to the north.
Aviation authorities lost connection with the aircraft when it “went off radar,” according to the statement from the office of Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera. His office said that Chakwera ordered a search and cancelled a trip to the Bahamas.
“All efforts to make contact with the aircraft since it went off radar have failed thus far,” the statement said.
Chakwera was informed of the plane’s disappearance by General Valentino Phiri, head of the Malawi Armed Forces. The president ordered state and local authorities to “conduct an immediate search and rescue operation to locate the whereabouts of the aircraft,” his office said.