Military plane carrying Malawi’s vice president goes missing

(10 Jun 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE - Lillongwe, 9 June 2024
1. STILL of Malawi's Vice President, Saulos Chilima, and his wife, Mary, disembarking from a plane upon his return from South Korea to Lillongwe on 9 June 2024
2. STILL of Chilima greeting government officials upon his return from South Korea to Lillongwe on 9 June 2024
STORYLINE:
A military plane carrying Malawi’s vice president and nine others went missing on Monday and a search was underway, the president’s office said.
The plane carrying 51-year-old Vice President Saulos Chilima left the capital, Lilongwe, but failed to make its scheduled landing at Mzuzu International Airport about 370 kilometres (230 miles) to the north around 45 minutes later.
Aviation authorities lost contact with the plane when it “went off radar,” the statement from Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera’s office said.
Chakwera ordered a search operation and cancelled a trip to the Bahamas, his office said.
“All efforts to make contact with the aircraft since it went off radar have failed thus far,” the statement said.
Chakwera was informed of the missing plane by General Valentino Phiri, the head of the Malawian armed forces.
The president had ordered national and local authorities to “conduct an immediate search and rescue operation to locate the whereabouts of the aircraft,” his office said.
===========================================================
Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel [phone] Email: [e-mail].
Find out more about AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: / ap_archive
Facebook: / aparchives ​​
Instagram: / apnews
You can license this story through AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...