LILONGWE, Malawi, June  10, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - A military aircraft carrying
Malawi's vice president Saulos Chilima has been reported missing after it
failed to make a landing Monday morning, the government said.

"All efforts by aviation authorities to make contact with the aircraft
since it went off the radar have failed thus far," the government said in a
statement.

The plane, which took off just after 9:00 am local time (0700 GMT), was
carrying 51-year-old Chilima and nine others.

President Lazarus Chakwera has ordered regional and national forces to
conduct an "immediate search and rescue operation to locate the whereabouts of
the aircraft", the statement said.

Chakwera, who was due to travel to the Bahamas for a working visit, has
since cancelled his trip.

In 2022, Chilima was stripped of his powers when he was arrested and
charged with graft over a bribery scandal involving a British-Malawian
businessman.

Last month, a Malawian court dropped the charges after Chilima attended
several court appearances.