GOOBJOOG NEWS | LILONGWE: Malawi’s vice president Saulos Klaus Chilima has been killed in a plane crash alongside nine others at the northern city of Mzuzu, president Lazarus Chakwera has confirmed.

In an address to the nation Tuesday, president Chakwera said that the Malawi Defence Force commander informed him that the search and rescue operation has been completed and the plane was found and that there were no survivors.

Mr Chakwera said he was “deeply saddened and sorry” to inform Malawians of the terrible tragedy adding that the rescue team found the aircraft completely destroyed.

“The search and rescue operation I ordered to find the missing plane that carried our vice president and nine others has been completed. The plane has been found. And I am deeply saddened and sorry to inform you that it has turned out to be a terrible tragedy,” Chakwera said.

Chakwera paid tribute to his deputy, describing him as “a good man, a devoted father, husband and a patriotic citizen who served his country with distinction.”

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.

Rescuers had been combing a fog-cloaked forest south of Mzuzu on Tuesday, after authorities located the last tower it transmitted to before the plane disappeared.