A multiagency air and sea search operation has located the wreckage of a missing private cargo plane off Pakistan’s Arabian Sea coast, 12 hours after the Boeing 737 lost contact with air traffic controllers mid-flight, national aviation officials confirmed. All five crew members on board the aircraft, which was operated by Pakistani carrier K2 Airways, remain missing as rescue efforts enter a new phase.
The cargo jet departed Karachi, Pakistan’s southern coastal commercial hub, on Tuesday bound for Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. According to official statements from the Pakistan Airports Authority, the plane suffered a sudden, rapid descent and cut off communication with ground control at 21:21 local time (16:21 GMT). Only minutes before the unexpected descent, the flight crew had reported a critical failure in the aircraft’s navigation systems, authorities added.
Search teams pulled the wreckage from waters 53 nautical miles south of Ormara, a small port town situated roughly 223 miles west of Karachi, the plane’s departure point. The 12-hour search operation deployed both maritime and aerial assets to scan the remote stretch of Arabian Sea before debris was located.
The incident marks the first major aviation accident in Pakistani airspace in nearly six years. The last major tragedy occurred in 2020, when a Pakistan International Airlines domestic passenger flight crashed on approach to Karachi’s main airport. Out of the 99 people on board that flight, only two survived the crash.
Authorities have not yet released details on potential causes of the 2024 incident, nor an updated timeline for the ongoing search for the missing five crew members. Rescue teams are continuing to comb the crash site in hopes of recovering additional debris and locating the crew.