Malawi’s Vice President killed in plane crash along with all passengers
Malawi's Vice President Saulos Chilima was killed in a plane crash along with nine other passengers, the country's President Lazarus Chakwera said.
This was reported by CNN on Tuesday, June 11.
The plane went missing after it failed to land at Mzuzu International Airport, about 380 km north of Malawi's capital Lilongwe. As a result of the search operation, the wreckage of the plane was found, Chakwera said.
"The search and rescue operation, that I ordered to find the missing plane carrying our Vice President and nine other people, has been completed. The plane has been found. And I am deeply saddened and sorry to inform you that it has turned into a terrible tragedy," Chakwera said.
Malawi's leader said the plane was found "completely destroyed" in the Chikangawa forest.
Earlier today, the Malawi Defense Force said it had deployed drones and at least 200 soldiers to search for the plane in the Chikangawa Forest Reserve, where signals about its location were last received. Force commander Paul Valentino Phiri said rescue operations had been suspended due to bad weather conditions.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on May 19, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a plane crash.
In February, the former president of Chile, Sebastian Piñera, was killed in a helicopter crash.
Also in February, the CEO of one of Nigeria's largest banks was killed in a plane crash in the United States.