Malawian vice president dies in plane crash!

MALAWIAN vice president Dr Sauolos Chilima and nine others, including his wife, were killed when the aircraft they were travelling in crashed.

According to the Malawian government, the country's military plane crashed in the Chikangawa mountain range.

The plane crashed on Monday morning, 10 June, after it took off from the country's Capital City, Lilongwe.

It's said that the plane was flying in bad weather; soldiers and other agencies had been searching the Chikangawa Forest overnight and into the morning to find the plane after it was reported missing.

The secretary to President Colleen Zamba said Chilima (51) and the other passengers had been headed to attend the funeral of the country's former attorney general when their plane dropped off the radar.

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He said the air traffic officials said the plane had been unable to land at Mzuzu Airport, about 200 miles north of the capital, due to poor visibility. The pilot had been advised to return to Lilongwe when the flight disappeared.

On Tuesday, 11 June, the country's President Lazarus Chakwera declared Chilima dead and called for a National Day of Mourning.

Chakwera said he was deeply saddened and sorry to inform Malawians of the tragedy.

He described Dr Chilima as a good man, a devoted father, and a formidable vice president.

"I consider it one of the great honours of my life to have had him as a deputy and as a counsellor," he said.