President Bola Tinubu has extended his condolences to His Excellency, President Lazarus Chakwera, and the people of Malawi over the passing of Vice-President Saulos Chilima and other officials in a plane crash.
In a statement sent to journalists by his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, President Tinubu commiserated with the families of the deceased over ”this deeply distressing incident, which happened on a mournful Monday, June 10, 2024.”
”The President assures the Malawian nation of Nigeria’s support during this time of mourning and prays for the repose of the souls of the departed,” the statement concluded.
Malawian searchers had found the wreckage of the plane that was carrying Vice President Chilima, a military source said Tuesday, a day after the aircraft went missing in bad weather.
The military plane carrying Chilima, 51, and nine others disappeared on Monday after it failed to land in the northern city of Mzuzu due to poor visibility and was told to return to the capital, Lilongwe and there was no survivor in the wreckage.
Photographs shared with AFP by a member of the military rescue team showed army personnel standing on a foggy slope near debris bearing the registration number of the Malawi Army Air Wing Dornier 228-202K aircraft.
Rescuers had been combing fog-cloaked forest south of Mzuzu on Tuesday after authorities located the last tower it transmitted to before the plane disappeared.
The group departed just after 9:00 am (0700 GMT) from Lilongwe on Monday to attend the funeral of a former cabinet minister some 370 kilometres (230 miles) away in Mzuzu.
Malawi’s former first lady Shanil Dzimbiri was also on board.
