A military aircraft carrying Malawi’s vice president and nine other passengers has disappeared, sparking a search operation as announced by the president’s office.

The plane, with Vice President Saulos Chilima onboard, took off from Lilongwe on Monday but did not reach its intended destination at Mzuzu International Airport, which lies approximately 370km (230 miles) to the north, about 45 minutes later.

The aircraft departed just after 9am local time (07:00 GMT).

According to a statement from President Lazarus Chakwera’s office, aviation officials lost contact with the aircraft when it “went off radar”.

Upon learning about the missing plane from the chief of the Malawian armed forces, President Chakwera initiated a search operation and postponed a scheduled trip to the Bahamas.

The statement noted, “All attempts to communicate with the aircraft since it went off radar have been unsuccessful up to now.”

The president has instructed both national and local authorities to “immediately launch a search and rescue mission to determine the aircraft's whereabouts,” according to his office.