A military aircraft carrying Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima has been reported missing after failing to land on Monday morning, according to the government.
The aircraft carrying 51-year-old Vice President departed from Lilongwe, the capital, but did not arrive at its scheduled destination, Mzuzu International Airport, located approximately 370 kilometers (230 miles) to the north, about 45 minutes later.
Aviation authorities lost contact with the plane when it “went off radar,” according to a statement from Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera’s office.
“A military aircraft carrying Malawi’s vice president Saulos Chilima has been reported missing after it failed to make a landing Monday morning, the government said.
“All efforts by aviation authorities to make contact with the aircraft since it went off the radar have failed thus far,” the government said in a statement.
The plane, which took off just after 9:00 am local time (0700 GMT), was carrying 51-year-old Chilima and nine others.
“President Lazarus Chakwera has ordered regional and national forces to conduct an “immediate search and rescue operation to locate the whereabouts of the aircraft”, the statement said.
