By Mercy Matonga & Feston Malekezo:
Malawians Monday went to bed gripped by anxiety following the missing of a plane that carried Vice-President Saulos Chilima and nine others on their way to the burial ceremony of lawyer Ralph Kasambara in Nkhata Bay.
By press time, a search and rescue team was still combing through the dark enclaves of the massive Viphya Plantation, commonly known as Chikangawa, to try to locate the plane.
It had reportedly gone off the radar after failing to land in Mzuzu on its way from Lilongwe due to bad weather.
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Addressing Malawians late last night, President Lazarus Chakwera said he had ordered the Malawi Defence Force (MDF), which was leading the search team, to keep updating the nation on the status of the mission.
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Chakwera said the MDF aircraft departed Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) at 09:17 with Chilima together with one Lucas Kapheni, Chisomo Chimaneni, Gloria Mtukule, Shanil Dzimbiri, Dan Kanyemba and Abdul Lapukeni on board.
It was being operated by Colonel Owen Sambalopa, Major Flora Selemani and Major Aidin.
He said at 3pm, when he received a report from MDF Commander Valentino Phiri, it had been established using telecommunication towers that the plane was located somewhere within a radius of 10 kilometres of Raiply premises.
“MDF soldiers are still on the ground carrying out the search and I have given strict orders that the operation should continue until the plane is found.
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“I have also directed the MDF soldiers who are overseeing the operation to give you regular updates on how the operation is going,” Chakwera said.
He said the situation was heartbreaking and that everyone was frightened and concerned, saying he, too, was concerned.
“I want to assure you that I am sparing no available resource to find that plane and I am holding on to every fibre of hope that we will find survivors,” the President said.
He added that government had already contacted Malawi’s neighbours and development partners, including United States, Israeli, Norwegian and United Kingdom governments, who had offered support in different forms such as the use of specialised technologies for the search activity.
On social media, Malawians offered their prayers for Chilima and the nine others, hoping they were safe wherever they were.
A statement from the Office of the President and Cabinet indicated that Chakwera had since suspended his trip to the Bahamas following the incident.
“[The President] has ordered all regional and national agencies to conduct an immediate search and rescue operation to locate the whereabouts of the aircraft,” the statement said.
Late last night, MDF spokesperson Major Kelvin Mlelemba said soldiers and others were carrying on with the search exercise using the available resources.
Apart from MDF soldiers, officers from the Malawi Police Service, the National Intelligence Services and political party leaders formed the search and rescue team.
