The president of Malawi declared on Monday that he was devoting all available resources to the hunt for a military plane that went missing, allegedly carrying the vice president of the nation, Saulos Chilima.
“I am aware that this is a terrible circumstance. nonetheless, I would like to assu
“I know that this is a heartbreaking situation… but I want to assure you that I am sparing no available resource to find that plane and I am holding on to every fibre of hope that we will find survivors,” president Lazarus Chakwera said.
As per the leader’s televised address to the country, the plane that took off just after 9:00 am (0700 GMT) was carrying Chilima, 51, and nine other people when it failed to land owing to terrible weather.
Shanil Dzimbiri (Muluzi), the former first lady of Malawi, was also present.
The group was traveling approximately 370 kilometers (230 miles) to the city of Mzuzu for a former cabinet minister’s burial from the capital, Lilongwe.
“Upon arrival in Mzuzu the pilot was unable to land the plane due to poor visibility occasioned by bad weather, and aviation authorities advised their aircraft to return to Lilongwe, but the authorities soon lost contact with the aircraft,” Chakwera said.
The head of state denied reports in the local press that search activities had been called off for the evening.
He claimed that the army will provide regular updates to the public and that soldiers are “still on the ground carrying out the search and I have given strict orders that the operation should continue until the plane is found.”
Earlier in the day, Chakwera gave the order for national and regional forces to launch a “immediate search and rescue operation.”
