Malawi VP Chilima, nine others, killed in plane crash

It was ordered to return to the capital but went off the radar and aviation authorities could not make contact with it.

"I'm deeply saddened, I'm sorry to inform you all that it has turned out to be a terrible tragedy. The search and rescue team has found the aircraft  near a hill ... they have found it completely destroyed with no survivors," Chakwera said on Tuesday.

Chakwera said in an address to the nation that the crash site was in a mountainous part of the Chikangawa Forest.

Chilima, seen as a potential candidate in the 2025 presidential election, was arrested in 2022 over graft allegations.

However, a Malawi court dropped the charges against him in May 2024 after the director of public prosecutions filed a notice for the case to be discontinued. Chilima has denied wrongdoing.