Cargo plane with five crew missing off Karachi coast, authorities say

A cargo Boeing 737 en route from Sharjah to Karachi went missing off the coast of Karachi on Tuesday at 21:21 local time, Pakistan’s airport authority said, with authorities reporting a steep descent after the crew reported a navigation system problem and search operations now underway.

The airport authority said the aircraft, operated by Karachi-based K2 Airways, lost contact with air traffic controllers shortly after reporting the navigation issue. The flight had departed Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and was approaching Karachi when the incident occurred.

K2 Airways confirmed in a Wednesday statement that five crew members were on board and said the company is fully cooperating with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies. The airline also said it is praying for the safety of its colleagues.

Preliminary data from the flight-tracking platform Flightradar24 showed the aircraft experienced a sharp fluctuation in altitude followed by a steep descent. The airport authority provided the initial timeline based on radar and communications records.

Pakistan’s navy and air force, along with other agencies, have been deployed to search for the missing plane, the airport authority said. Officials described the operation as ongoing and did not provide further details about debris or survivors at the time of the statement.

The airport authority noted the plane lost contact at 21:21 local time (16:21 GMT) on Tuesday. No additional times or coordinates were released in the initial authority statement.

The Boeing 737 was operated by K2 Airways, a private cargo carrier founded in 2018 and based in Karachi. The company reiterated its cooperation with authorities and identified the five crew members without releasing their names in the initial statement.

The last major aviation accident in Pakistan occurred in 2020, when a Pakistan International Airlines passenger flight crashed while approaching Karachi, killing 97 of the 99 people on board. Authorities did not connect that earlier accident to the current incident and offered no further commentary in initial briefings.