A military aircraft transporting Malawi’s Vice President, Saulos Chilima, along with nine other individuals, disappeared on Monday, according to an announcement from the president’s office.

Colleen Zamba, the Malawian Secretary to the President and Cabinet, released a statement indicating that the plane departed from the capital city, Lilongwe, shortly after 9:15 AM on Monday, bound for Mzuzu in the northern region. However, it did not arrive as planned. The statement included the following details:

The Office of the President and Cabinet wishes to inform the general public that the Malawi Defense Force Aircraft that left Lilongwe today, Monday 10th June 2024 at 09:17 Hours, carrying the Vice President, the Right Honourable Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima, and nine others, failed to make its scheduled landing at Mzuzu International Airport at 10:02. All efforts by aviation authorities to make contact with the Aircraft since it went off the radar have failed thus far.

As such, the Commander of the Malawi Defense Force, General Valentino Phiri, has since informed His Excellency Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera of the incident and the President has since cancelled his scheduled departure for the Bahamas and ordered all regional and national agencies to conduct an immediate search and rescue operation to locate the whereabouts of the aircraft.

The public will be updated of any developments on the situation as facts are established.