An aircraft belonging to the Malawi Defense Forces fleet, on which the country's vice-president and nine other people were traveling, has been missing since Monday morning.

A statement from the Malawian government indicates that the plane carrying Malawi's vice-president, Saulos Chilima, and nine other people, disappeared after "going off the radar" shortly after taking off from the capital Lilongwe.

"All efforts by the aviation authorities to contact the aircraft since it went off the radar have failed (...)," says the statement quoted by the international press.

The incident occurred when Malawi's vice-president was on his way to Mzuzu, in the north of the country, to attend the funeral ceremonies of former Justice Minister Ralph Kasambala.