Malawi’s Vice President dead: Wreckage of missing plane found

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The deaths of Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima and nine others have been confirmed after their missing military aircraft was located by the armed forces.

Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera announced in a live address on Tuesday that the plane had been completely destroyed and all passengers had died in the impact.

Also on board the plane was former first lady Shanil Dzimbiri, the ex-wife of former President Bakili Muluzi, the president said. There were seven passengers and three military personnel on board.

The plane was found destroyed in a misty forest by search teams. It disappeared during its 45-minute flight from the capital Lilongwe to Mzuzu, about 370 kilometers to the north.

Air traffic controllers advised the plane not to attempt to land at Mzuzu airport due to bad weather and poor visibility and asked it to return to Lilongwe, Chakwera said in a speech late on Monday night. Air traffic controllers then lost contact with the plane and it disappeared from radar, he said.

Chakwera thanked the US, UK, Norway and Israel for their support in providing special technologies for the search.

The group had travelled to Mzuzu to attend the funeral of a former minister. Chilima had only returned from an official visit to South Korea on Sunday.