- This story is creating, extra to observe
A army airplane carying Malawi’s vice chairman Saulos Chilima has gone ‘off the radar’ after taking off this morning, the nation’s authorities has revealed.
The airplane, which was carrying 9 different individuals, did not land after taking off from the nation’s capital metropolis, Lilongwe, at round 9am native time (7am BST) this morning.
Different passengers on the flight, which was speculated to land at Mzuzu Worldwide Airport within the nation’s north simply after 11am BST, included the vice chairman’s spouse, Mary, and a number of other officers from his get together, the United Transformation Motion.
They have been travelling to symbolize the federal government on the funeral of a former cupboard minister, Ralph Kasambara, who died simply three days in the past.
‘All efforts by aviation authorities to make contact with the plane because it went off the radar have failed to this point,’ the federal government stated in an announcement.
A army airplane carying Malawi’s vice chairman Saulos Chilima (pictured) has gone ‘off the radar’ after taking off this morning
It’s nonetheless not identified when or why the airplane went down.
The nation’s president Lazarus Chakwera has ordered regional and nationwide forces to conduct an ‘rapid search and rescue operation to find the whereabouts of the plane’, the assertion added.
Chakwera, who was as a result of journey to the Bahamas for a working go to, has since cancelled his journey.
He added that the ‘public might be up to date of any developments on the state of affairs as details are established.’
In 2022, Chilima was stripped of his vice-presidential powers when he was arrested and charged with graft over a $150million bribery scandal involving a British-Malawian businessman.
Final month, a Malawian court docket dropped the fees after Chilima attended a number of court docket appearances.
Extra to observe.
