Lilongwe — The death of Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima in a plane crash has shaken Malawi.

President Lazarus Chakwera has declared 21 days of national mourning.

"We are shocked and deeply moved by the news of the tragic plane crash in which Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima and nine other Malawians lost their lives," write the Bishops of Malawi in a statement expressing their condolences to the nation and the families of the victims. "Until their deaths, Saulos Klaus Chilima and Mrs. Patricia Dzimbiri were practicing and fervent members of the Catholic Church. They came from families founded and rooted in faith, ethic and Catholic values," emphasize the Bishops.

Patricia Shanil Dzimbiri was the wife of former President Elson Bakili Muluzi. She was part of the delegation led by Vice President Chilima that left the capital Lilongwue to attend the funeral of former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Raphael Kasambara, who died in Mzuzu on June 7. The Episcopal Conference has asked priests across the country to remember the victims of the plane crash during the masses on Sunday, June 16.