Photo: The plane carrying Malawi Vice President Chilima and 10 others crashed on the 10th, and the wreckage has been found. \Internet photo

According to CNN and BBC reports: Malawi President Chakwera said on the 11th that the military plane carrying Vice President Chilima and nine other people had crashed, and all the people on board had died. The Malawi military confirmed earlier that the wreckage of the military plane had been found.

The Malawi President and Cabinet Office issued a statement on the 10th saying that the National Defense Force plane that Chilima was on that morning lost contact, carrying Chilima and 10 other people. The military plane took off from Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, but due to low visibility did not land at the original destination, Mzuzu Airport. After being asked to return to Lilongwe, it disappeared from the radar.

It is reported that Chilima had planned to attend the funeral of former Malawi Attorney General Kasambara on that day. The aircraft Chilima was riding was a Dornier 228 twin-engine turboprop short take-off and landing multi-purpose transport aircraft from the German Dornier company. The aircraft Chilima was riding made its first flight in December 1987 and was delivered to the Malawi army six months later.

Chilima was first elected vice president in 2014. He is widely loved in Malawi, especially among young people. In June 2020, Chilima ran in the general election as Chakwera’s running mate and was re-elected vice president.

Chilima is seen as a potential candidate for next year’s presidential election. Although he was arrested on suspicion of corruption in 2022, he was reinstated after a court dropped the charges last month.