The plane carrying Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima and nine others has gone missing, the presidency said in a statement on Monday evening.
The Malawi Defence Force plane “disappeared from radar” after taking off from the capital Lilongwe at 9:17 a.m. local time (8:17 a.m. BST), but failed to land at the scheduled time of 10:02 a.m. in Mzuzu, some 300 kilometres (185 miles) to the north.
“All attempts by aviation authorities to contact the aircraft since it disappeared from radar have been unsuccessful.” The statement said:The statement, signed by Malawi’s secretary to the president, Colleen Zamba, did not disclose the type of aircraft.
President Lazarus Chakwera ordered a search and rescue operation and cancelled a planned visit to the Bahamas.
Chilima, 51, was due to attend the funeral of former justice minister and attorney general Ralph Kasambala in Chijere village in Mzuzu east.
Mr Kasambala, 55, was found dead from heart failure last Friday. According to a government Facebook post:.
Heavy rains are falling in parts of Malawi, especially in the north.
Chilima has been South Africa’s vice president since 2014. He previously headed mobile network Airtel Malawi and has also worked for Unilever, Coca-Cola and Carlsberg, according to his profile on a government website.
Chilima is married with two children and holds a doctorate in knowledge management from the University of Bolton, according to the government website.
