A plane carrying Malawi’s Vice-President Saulos Chilima and nine others has vanished mid-air, prompting a search and rescue operation.
According to a statement from the president’s office, the Malawi Defense Force aircraft lost contact with aviation officials after departing from the capital, Lilongwe, on Monday morning.
The plane was headed to Mzuzu International Airport in northern Malawi.
On board were Vice-President Malawi, Salous Chilima, his wife Mary, and several officials from his United Transformation Movement (UTM) party.
President Lazarus Chakwera has cancelled his scheduled trip to the Bahamas and is closely monitoring the situation.
The cause of the disappearance remains unknown, and intensive search efforts are underway.
Vice-President Chilima, 51, has been in office since 2014 and was en route to attend the funeral of former cabinet minister Ralph Kasambara.
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