Malawian search teams have discovered the wreckage of a plane that was carrying Vice President Saulos Chilima, a military source reported Tuesday, a day after the aircraft went missing in bad weather. The military plane, which had Chilima, 51, and nine others on board, disappeared on Monday after failing to land in Mzuzu due to poor visibility. It was instructed to return to Lilongwe but crashed, with no survivors in the wreckage.

Photographs shared by a military rescue team member with the AFP showed army personnel standing on a foggy slope near debris identified as the Malawi Army Air Wing Dornier 228-202K aircraft. President Lazarus Chakwera is expected to address the nation soon.

Rescuers had been searching a foggy forest south of Mzuzu on Tuesday after authorities pinpointed the last transmission tower the plane contacted before disappearing. General Paul Valentino Phiri, the army commander, mentioned that neighboring countries had assisted in the search, providing helicopters and drones.

The group departed from Lilongwe just after 9:00 am (0700 GMT) on Monday to attend the funeral of a former cabinet minister in Mzuzu, approximately 370 kilometers (230 miles) away. Malawi’s former first lady, Shanil Dzimbiri was also on board.

Chilima, first elected vice president in 2014, is a charismatic figure, especially popular among young people in Malawi. However, in 2022, during his second term, he was stripped of his powers after being arrested and charged with corruption in a bribery scandal involving a British-Malawian businessman. Last month, a Malawian court dropped the charges, allowing him to resume his official duties.