Cargo plane goes missing off Karachi coast, massive air-sea search underway

ISLAMABAD: A major air and sea search operation was launched late Tuesday after a K2 Airways cargo aircraft carrying five crew members disappeared from radar off the coast of Karachi shortly after reporting a navigational system malfunction.

According to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA), the Boeing 737 cargo aircraft, operating a flight from Sharjah to Karachi, contacted the Karachi Area Control Centre at 9:18pm (PST) to report a navigation system problem.

The PAA said air traffic controllers immediately provided navigational assistance. However, within three minutes, at 9:21pm, the aircraft was observed making a rapid descent accompanied by an abrupt change in heading before radar and all communication were lost approximately 155 nautical miles west of Karachi.

Following the incident, the PAA activated the Rescue Coordination Centre, triggering a multi-agency search and rescue operation involving naval, air and maritime assets to locate the missing aircraft and its five-member crew.

Officials said the cause of the incident would be determined after a formal investigation.

According to official sources, the Pakistan Navy dispatched its warship PNS Zulfiqar to the search area, while the Pakistan Air Force deployed a SAAB surveillance aircraft and the Pakistan Navy launched an ATR aircraft to assist in the operation.

The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation also diverted its commercial vessel Lahore to support the ongoing search effort.

Meanwhile, global flight-tracking service Flightradar said preliminary ADS-B data suggested a "possible crash", although the information had yet to be officially confirmed.

According to Flightradar, the missing aircraft, registration AP-BOI, is a Boeing 737-4M0 (BDSF) freighter that entered service with K2 Airways in 2024.

Originally delivered to Russia's Aeroflot in 1999 as a passenger aircraft, it later served Indonesia's Garuda before being converted into a cargo aircraft in 2012. It subsequently operated with TNT Airways and ASL Airlines before joining K2 Airways.