President Lazarus Chakwera said the wreckage of the plane carrying Malawi’s vice president has been found and there are no survivors.
Saulos Chilima and nine others were flying domestically on Monday morning when their plane disappeared from airport radar.
The plane, a military aircraft, was flying in bad weather conditions.
Soldiers are searching Chikangawa Forest in an effort to find the plane.
During a press conference on Tuesday, President Chakwera said the Malawi Defense Force commander informed him that the search and rescue operation had been completed and the plane had been found.
Mr Chakwera said he was “deeply saddened and sorry” as he informed the people of Malawi about the terrible tragedy.
He said rescue teams found the plane completely destroyed.
The vice president and president come from different parties but the two worked together to form a coalition in the 2020 election.
Dr. Chilima, 51, was on his way to represent the government at the funeral of former government minister Ralph Kasambara, who passed away four days ago.
Former First Lady Shanil Dzimbiri was also on the flight that took off from the capital Lilongwe on Monday morning.
It was due to land at the airport in the northern city of Mzuzu, but was turned back because of poor visibility.
Dr. Chilima has served as Vice President of Malawi since 2014.
AFP news agency reported that he is loved by many people in Malawi, especially among young people.
However, Dr. Chilima was arrested and charged in 2022 on allegations that he received money in exchange for government contracts.
Last month, the court dropped the charges and did not give a reason for the decision.
Dr. Chilima is married and has two children.
