Malawi’s Vice President, Saulos Chilima, has been killed in a plane crash, along with nine other passengers, including his wife, the country’s President, Lazarus Chakwera, announced.
The wreckage of the military plane was found in a mountainous area in the north of the country after a search that lasted more than a day. There were no survivors of the crash.
Chilima and the other passengers had been headed to attend the funeral of the country’s former attorney general when their plane dropped off radar. Air traffic officials said the plane had been unable to land at Mzuzu airport, about 200 miles north of the capital, due to poor visibility, and the pilot had been advised to return to Lilongwe when the flight disappeared.
The Malawian armed forces flew a small, propeller-driven plane with seven passengers and three military crew members on board.
Chilima, 51, had been seen in Malawi as a possible contender for next year’s presidential election. He had previously been facing corruption charges over allegations that he received money in return for influencing the awarding of government procurement contracts for the Malawi armed forces and the police, but prosecutors dropped the charges last month.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
