The wreckage of the two aircraft that went missing in George’s Valley near Tzaneen has been found, Search and Rescue South Africa spokesperson Johnny Smit told etv on Tuesday.
Authorities are yet to confirm if there are any survivors.
The search for the two planes resumed on Tuesday morning despite inclement weather.
“The weather has gone from bad to worse. It is raining and foggy,” said police spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi.
It was unclear how many hectares or kilometres the rescue team had to cover but Mulaudzi said a plan had been devised.
In an attempt to cover more ground, six teams split up to hike along different sections of the route. Each team had a dedicated helicopter assisting.
The Albatross planes, with a total of 13 people on board, were presumed to have crashed in the George’s Valley area, which is between Polokwane and Tzaneen.
The search on Monday had moved south of Wolkberg, which is part of the Drakensberg, about 80km from Tzaneen.
The planes took off from a landing strip in a small farming community in Tzaneen called Tarentaal on Sunday after an air show and were headed to Rand Airport in Germiston.
Overnight foot patrols had searched in Tzaneen for the two planes and the search had been put on hold on Monday morning because the weather had deteriorated. — Additional reporting by Sapa