Soldiers searching for missing Malawi military plane carrying vice president and 9 others

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) — Troopers are looking out hills and forests close to a metropolis in northern Malawi after a navy aircraft carrying the nation’s vice chairman went lacking within the space Monday, President Lazarus Chakwera stated.

The aircraft carrying 51-year-old Vice President Saulos Chilima and 9 others left the southern African nation’s capital, Lilongwe, at 9.17 a.m. and was anticipated to land 45 minutes later at Mzuzu Worldwide Airport, about 370 kilometers (230 miles) to the north. However air visitors management instructed it to show round due to unhealthy climate and poor visibility, Chakwera stated in an handle broadcast dwell on state TV channel MBC. The plane disappeared from radar a short while later, he stated.

“I do know this can be a heartbreaking scenario. I do know we’re all frightened and anxious. I too am involved,” Chakwera stated. “However I need to guarantee you that I’m sparing no obtainable useful resource to search out that aircraft. And I’m holding onto each fiber of hope that we are going to discover survivors.”

Mzuzu is Malawi’s third largest metropolis and the capital of the northern area. It lies in a hilly, forested space dominated by the Viphya mountain vary, which has huge plantations of pine bushes.

The president vowed that search operations would proceed via the evening.

WATCH: A Transient However Spectacular tackle empowering Malawi throughout the pandemic

“I’ve given strict orders that the operation ought to proceed till the aircraft is discovered,” Chakwera stated.

Chakwera stated the U.S., the U.Okay., Norway and Israel provided help within the search operation.

Chilima has been vice chairman since 2020.

He was a candidate within the 2019 Malawian presidential election and completed third. That vote was received by incumbent Peter Mutharika however was annulled by Malawi’s Constitutional Courtroom due to irregularities. Chakwera completed second in that election.

Chilima then joined Chakwera’s marketing campaign as his working mate in an historic election rerun in 2020, when Chakwera was elected president. It was the primary time in Africa that an election outcome that was overturned by a courtroom resulted in a defeat for the sitting president.

The vice chairman had been going through corruption expenses over allegations that he obtained cash in return for influencing the awarding of presidency contracts, however prosecutors dropped the fees final month. That led to criticism that Chakwera’s administration was not taking a tough sufficient stance towards graft.

Chilima was arrested in late 2022 and made a number of courtroom appearances, however the trial has but to begin. He has denied the allegations.

Imray reported from Cape City, South Africa.