LILONGWE, Malawi, June 11, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Malawi's president on Monday
said he was sparing no resources in a search operation for a missing military
aircraft carrying the country's vice president Saulos Chilima.

"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.

The plane, which took off just after 9:00 am (0700 GMT), was carrying 51-
year-old Chilima and nine others when it failed to land due to bad weather,
according to the leader who was speaking in a televised address to the
nation.

Malawi's former first lady Shanil Dzimbiri (Muluzi) was also on board.

The group was travelling from the capital Lilongwe over 370 kilometres (230
miles) to the city of Mzuzu for the funeral of a former cabinet minister.

"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 dismissed claims published by local media that search
operations had been discontinued for the night.

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",
he said, adding that the army would give the public regular updates.

Chakwera ordered regional and national forces to conduct an "immediate search
and rescue operation" earlier in the day.

- International support -

He said he had already contacted the governments of various countries
including the US, Britain, Norway and Israel, who had all offered support "in
different capacities".

"Including the use of specialised technologies that will enhance capacity to
find the plane sooner."

Chakwera said that a telecommunication signal located the plane within a 10
kilometre radius of Riaply, a timber milling company in the poor southern
African nation located south of Mzuzu.

Soldiers are said to be looking for the missing aircraft with torches and on
foot, according to local media reports.

Various unconfirmed reports have circulated that eye witnesses saw a plane
crashing into the forest earlier on Monday.

Chakwera has cancelled a visit to the Bahamas.

First elected vice-president in 2014, the charismatic yet stern-talking
Chilima is widely loved in Malawi, particularly among the youth.

But in 2022 during his second stint in the job, Chilima was stripped of his
powers after being arrested and charged with graft over a bribery scandal
involving a British-Malawian businessman.

Last month, a Malawian court dropped the charges.