Zanzibar’s Second Vice President, Hemed Suleiman Abdulla, has said the government is following up on the plane crash in the Comoros as authorities conduct a search and rescue operation.

He visited the family of Adil Sultan Khamis, one of the pilots in the ill-fated plane, and assured them of the government’s efforts in getting information on the crash.

The light aircraft registered in Tanzania and owned by a firm based in Zanzibar crashed into the sea off the coast of Comoros on Saturday and all 14 on board are still missing.

The aircraft had 12 passengers and two crew on board, with the Comoros government saying the passengers were Comorian and the two pilots were Tanzanian.

The plane was leased to a Comorian carrier and was travelling from Moroni to Fomboni in the Comoros, when the plane crashed into the sea.

Reports say that the pilots did not communicate any technical faults or distress.