Malawian Vice President Saulos Chilima's aircraft missing, search underway

A military aircraft carrying Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima and nine others went missing on Monday (June 10), prompting an urgent search operation, reports said citing the president’s office of the African nation.

The plane was scheduled to land around 45 minutes after departure from the capital Lilongwe. However, it failed to reach its destination at Mzuzu International Airport in the stipulated time.

Mzuzu International Airport is located in the city of Mzuzu, in the northern region of Malawi.From the departure point of the Malawian Vice President's aircraft, the airport is nearly 370 kilometres to the north.

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As per information fromMalawian President Lazarus Chakwera's office,aviation authorities lost contact with the plane as it "went off radar."In response to the incident, President Chakwera has ordered to “conduct an immediate search and rescue operation to locate the whereabouts of the aircraft."

The search operation is being undertaken by both national and local authorities. The president also canceled his planned trip to the Bahamas in view of the situation.

“All efforts to make contact with the aircraft since it went off radar have failed thus far,” the statement from president's office read.

Malawian armed forces chief General Valentino Phiri informed the president about the missing aircraft carrying the vice president.

(With inputs from agencies)