After hours of being declared missing followed by rigorous search, the Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera has announced on Tuesday the death of his Vice President, Saulos Chilima and nine others on board.
The military plane, which disappeared on Monday, was found wrecked in a forest after failing to land in Mzuzu due to poor visibility leaving no survivor.
“The plane has been found and I am deeply saddened and sorry to inform you all, it has turned out to be a terrible tragedy,” President Chakwera said in a televised address.
The incident has sent shockwaves through Malawi, as the nation mourns the loss of its Vice President and the other victims involved in the crash.
The crash comes just weeks after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash, drawing eerie parallels and highlighting the vulnerabilities of air travel for high-ranking officials.
Search efforts by Malawian authorities led to the discovery of the wreckage on Tuesday, a day after the aircraft went missing. The plane was en route back to the capital, Lilongwe, after being unable to land in Mzuzu because of severe weather conditions.
The Vice President, aged 51, was traveling with nine others on the military aircraft when the tragedy struck.
To ascertain the cause of the crash, the government has promised a thorough investigation aiming to provide answers and prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
