Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera said a plane carrying the country’s Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima has crashed, killing all on board, including Chilima.

Chilima, 51, was on board a military plane along with nine others that departed from Malawi’s capital Lilongwe and was scheduled to land at Mzuzu airport, Malawi’s Office of the President and Cabinet said in a statement earlier.

President Chakwera said in his address to the nation that the plane was unable to land at the airport due to poor visibility and was ordered to return to the capital on Monday.

The President had said that a massive search operation was launched within a 10-km radius of the forest area to find the plane.

The president said Malawi has approached neighbouring countries, as well as the governments of the United States, Britain, Norway and Israel, for assistance in rescue efforts.

Chilima, seen as a potential candidate in the next presidential election, was arrested in 2022 on corruption charges.

However, last month a Malawi court dismissed corruption charges against him after the director of public prosecutions filed a notice to close the case. Chilima has denied any wrongdoing.