His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik has conveyed his heartfelt condolences and sympathy to His Excellency Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, the President of the Republic of Malawi, in the wake of the tragic demise of His Excellency Saulos Klaus Chilima, the Vice President of the Republic, and several other officials following a plane crash. In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan expressed his deepest sympathies to His Excellency, the friendly people of Malawi, and the bereaved families of the victims.
Malawi's Vice President, Saulos Klaus Chilima, along with nine others, including former first lady Shanil Dzimbiri, tragically lost their lives when the military aircraft they were traveling in crashed. President Lazarus Chakwera shared this devastating news with the nation, expressing his profound sorrow. The aircraft, carrying Chilima, who was considered a potential candidate for the upcoming presidential election, went missing on Monday.
In his address to the nation, President Chakwera stated, "I am deeply saddened to inform you all that this has turned into a terrible tragedy. The search and rescue team has discovered the wreckage of the aircraft near a hill. Regrettably, there are no survivors."
The plane had departed from the capital city of Lilongwe at 09:17 a.m. (0717 GMT) on Monday but was unable to land at Mzuzu airport as scheduled at 10:02 a.m. due to poor visibility. It was instructed to return to Lilongwe but subsequently disappeared from the radar, and aviation authorities were unable to establish contact with it.
President Chakwera confirmed that all passengers on board had tragically lost their lives and that the military was facilitating the repatriation of their remains to the capital.
