Search under way for cargo plane that vanished off Pakistan coast
Aviation officials in Pakistan said search operations were continuing after the cargo plane carrying five crew members disappeared off the coast of the city of Karachi, at the southern tip of the country.
Pakistan’s airport authority said the Boeing 737 descended rapidly at 21:21 local time (16:21 GMT) on Tuesday and lost contact with air traffic controllers. The plane was en route from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Karachi.
The airport official said the plane reported a problem with its navigation system a few minutes before landing.
The aircraft was operated by Karachi-based private cargo airline K2 Airways. According to its website, the company was founded in 2018.
In a statement on Wednesday, K2 Airways identified the five crew members on board and said it was “fully cooperating with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies.”
“We continue to pray earnestly for the safety of our colleagues,” the statement said.
According to preliminary data from flight tracking platform Flightradar24, the plane recorded a sharp fluctuation in altitude before a steep descent.
The airport official said various units, including the navy and air force, were deployed to search for the missing plane.
The last major aviation incident in Pakistan was related to domestic passenger flight in 2020. In this incident, a Pakistan International Airlines plane crashed on approach to Karachi airport, killing all but two of the 99 people on board.
