By Daily Review Online
Pakistan has launched a major search and rescue operation after a Boeing 737-400 cargo aircraft carrying five crew members disappeared over the Arabian Sea while en route to Karachi.
The aircraft, operated by Karachi-based private cargo carrier K2 Airways, departed Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday night but lost contact with air traffic control at about 9:18 p.m. after reporting a navigational system malfunction.
Flight tracking data indicated the aircraft experienced dramatic altitude changes before entering a steep final descent. Its last recorded position was about 155 nautical miles (287 kilometres) west of Karachi, where communication was abruptly lost.
Pakistani authorities have deployed a navy ship, two naval aircraft and a merchant vessel operated by the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation to search the area. As of Wednesday, no wreckage or survivors had been located.
In a statement, K2 Airways said it was cooperating fully with investigators and expressed hope for the safety of its crew members.
“We continue to pray, earnestly, for the safety of our colleagues,” the airline said.
The missing aircraft, a 27-year-old Boeing 737-400 freighter, was the only plane in K2 Airways’ fleet. Originally delivered to Russia’s Aeroflot as a passenger aircraft in 1999, it later served several operators, including Indonesia’s Garuda Indonesia, before being converted into a cargo aircraft in 2012.
The aircraft had been stored for extended periods in France, Jakarta and Karachi before entering service with K2 Airways in December 2024.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow over the incident and conveyed his sympathies to the families of the missing crew members.
If the aircraft is confirmed to have crashed, it would be Pakistan’s first major civilian aviation disaster since May 2020, when a Pakistan International Airlines passenger plane crashed near Karachi, killing 97 of the 99 people on board.