Malawi Defence Force Commander General Paul Velentino Phiri has justified why authorities took time to start searching for the plane that carried Vice-President Saulos Chilima and eight others.

Speaking at a press briefing today, Phiri says the search for the aeroplane that crashed did not start immediately after it had lost contact because the aircraft was not yet declared missing.

He said soon after the aircraft lost contact, there were efforts to look for the plane’s signal to determine where the aircraft might have made contact.

Phiri said the efforts to check the signal for the plane took time.

He said he hoped that his explanation answers the question that people have been raising as to why the search for the aircraft started around 4pm when the aircraft lost contact around 10.

Phiri has since called on Malawians to stop advancing theories that might destabilise the country.