Pakistan Intensifies Search for Missing Cargo Plane Off Karachi Coast
ISLAMABAD-Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday ordered aviation and military authorities to intensify search and rescue operations for a cargo aircraft that disappeared over the Arabian Sea with five crew members aboard while flying from Sharjah to Karachi after reporting a navigation system problem.
The missing aircraft, a Boeing 737-400 freighter operated by Karachi-based K2 Airways, lost contact late Tuesday during the final phase of its journey to Pakistan. The disappearance has prompted a multi-agency search operation involving civilian and military authorities off the country’s southern coast.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Sharif directed the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the Pakistan Navy and the Pakistan Air Force to deploy all available resources to accelerate search efforts in the Arabian Sea.
The prime minister also expressed sorrow over the incident and extended his sympathies to the families of the five crew members aboard the aircraft.
K2 Airways confirmed the incident in a statement posted on its official Facebook page, identifying the five crew members and saying the airline was praying for their safe recovery. The carrier said it was fully cooperating with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies involved in the operation.
The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said the aircraft first reported a navigation system issue at 9:18 p.m. local time while approaching Karachi. Air traffic controllers at the Karachi Area Control Center provided navigational assistance following the report.
Three minutes later, at 9:21 p.m., radar data showed the aircraft making a rapid descent accompanied by a sharp change in heading before both radar and radio contact were lost approximately 155 nautical miles west of Karachi, according to the PAA.
The authority said a coordinated search-and-rescue mission was launched immediately after contact with the aircraft was lost.
Officials said the operation includes the Pakistan Navy frigate PNS Zulfiqar, aircraft from the Pakistan Air Force, a Pakistan Navy ATR surveillance aircraft operating from Turbat, and the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation merchant vessel Lahore, which has joined the search in the Arabian Sea.
Authorities have not determined the cause of the aircraft’s disappearance, and no wreckage or survivors had been reported by the time of publication.
The missing aircraft was operating a cargo service between Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and Karachi, one of Pakistan’s busiest commercial aviation routes for freight transport.
Investigators are expected to examine all available radar, communication and flight data once the aircraft is located. For now, search teams continue to comb the waters southwest of Karachi as authorities seek to determine the fate of the aircraft and its crew.
