Rescue efforts have intensified after a privately owned plane with two Dutch nationals on board crashed into the waters of Lake Malawi on Tuesday afternoon.

The aircraft belonging to a Zimbabwean company, Nyasa Express, also had a Zimbabwean pilot. A Dutch female passenger was rescued by a group of fishermen and is currently in hospital being treated for minor injuries.

Moses Kunkuyu, Malawi’s minister of information and digitization, told Anadolu on Wednesday that the government has intensified efforts to locate the two missing persons – a Dutch passenger and the Zimbabwean pilot.

“We are very optimistic that at the end of Wednesday, we should be able to succeed in our efforts,” he said.

The C2110 aircraft had taken off from the lakeshore district of Nkhotakota en route to eastern Malawi and crashed 45 minutes before landing.

“Rescue efforts are getting there to push the plane ashore. It’s currently spotted underwater close to the shore,” Kunkuyu said.

On June 10, an aircraft crash killed Saulosi Klaus Chilima, Malawi’s vice president, and eight others. Investigations are underway to establish the cause of the crash. By Jamal Jamal, Anadolu Agency