A senior military official said the plane carrying Malawi’s vice president may have crashed in a forest in the country’s north.
Solos Chilima and nine others were flying within the country on Monday morning when their plane disappeared from airport radar.
The plane was a military aircraft and was flying in bad weather.
Soldiers have been searching for the plane in the Chikanchuan forest.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Malawi Defense Force commander Paul Valentino Phiri said heavy fog had reduced visibility in the forest and complicated search efforts.
President Lazarus Chakwera said the mission must continue until the plane is found.
“I know we are all scared and worried – I am worried too,” he told Malawians in a speech on Monday night.
“But I want to assure you that I will spare no effort to find that plane and I have some hope that survivors will be found.”
However, Dr Chilima’s party United Change Movement (UTM) said they were “disappointed” by the search operation.
UTM officials claimed that although the plane disappeared at 10:00, the search began at 15:00 local time (14:00 GMT).
The vice president and president are from different parties, but the two joined forces to form a coalition during the 2020 election.
Dr Chilima, 51, was preparing to represent the government at the funeral of former government minister Ralph Kasambara who died four days ago.
Former first lady Shanil Zimbiri was also on the flight 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 due to poor visibility.
President Chakwera said he had contacted governments including the United States, Britain, Norway and Israel, which had all offered support “in different capacities” to help find the plane.
Dr Chilima has served as Vice President of Malawi since 2014.
He is widely loved in Malawi, especially among young people, according to AFP.
However, Dr. Chilima was arrested and charged in 2022 on charges that he accepted money in exchange for government contracts.
Last month, the court dropped the charges but gave no reason for the decision.
Dr Chilima is married with two children
