An aircraft carrying Malawi’s vice president and nine others has gone missing.
According to the president’s office, Saulos Klaus Chilima was on board when the flight “went off radar” after leaving the capital, Lilongwe, on Monday morning.
Rescue operations are ongoing, it added, after efforts to “make contact” with the plane failed.
“The public will be updated of any developments on the situation as facts are established,” Malawi’s Office of the President and Cabinet said.
A Malawi Defence Force plane left the capital at 9.17am (8.17am UK time), secretary to the president Colleen Zamba said in a statement.
The aircraft had been scheduled to land at Mzuzu International Airport at 10.02am, a trip covering a distance of about 370km.
Local media report Mr Chilima, 51, had been on his way to the funeral of Ralph Kasambara, a lawyer and former minister.
Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera has cancelled a trip to the Bahamas and ordered authorities to “conduct an immediate search and rescue operation to locate the whereabouts of the aircraft”.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
