A plane carrying Malawi’s vice president has mysteriously disappeared from radar

Communication with the plane was mysteriously lost in mid-air. A plane carrying Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima disappeared from radar screens shortly after takeoff on Monday, June 10.

The plane – whose manufacturer is unknown – took off from the capital Lilongwe at 9:17am (local time) to reach the city of Mzuzu in northern Malawi, 370 kilometers away. All this, after a 45-minute flight.

Bad weather and low visibility

But alas, the plane did not land on the tarmac at the airport of the country’s third largest city. President Lazarus Saguera announced live on television that air traffic control had lost all traces of the plane during the flight.

According to his explanations, air traffic controllers asked the pilots of the plane not to attempt to land and turn back due to bad weather and low visibility. The British newspaper notes that it was only after this request that the plane disappeared from the control screens Guardian.

“I know this situation breaks our hearts. I know we are all scared and worried. I am worried too»The Head of State was changed before the accession: “But I want to assure you that I will spare no available evidence to find this plane. I am holding on to every fiber of hope that we will find survivors» He assured the camera.

Extensive research activities

Since last night, the military has been conducting extensive search operations in the rugged jungles of northern Malawi in search of the remains of the plane. Officials said they also received assistance from the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway and Israel, all four of which provided “specialized technologies.”

Saulos Chilima, a married father of two, was due to attend the funeral of the former justice minister. The tiny southern African country’s vice president since 2014, the 51-year-old previously headed the Airtel Malawi mobile network and worked for agricultural giant Unilever, according to his biography posted on the government website.