The government of Malawi has said that a military aircraft conveying the country’s vice president Saulos Chilima is missing after it failed to land on Monday
In a statement the government said efforts by aviation authorities to make contact with the aircraft since it went off the radar have failed.
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.
