Pakistani search and rescue teams have located the wreckage of a K2 Airways Boeing 737 cargo aircraft that disappeared over the Arabian Sea while flying from Sharjah to Karachi, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said on Wednesday.
According to the PAA, the wreckage was found about 53 nautical miles south of Ormara after nearly 12 hours of coordinated search and rescue operations in deep waters.
The authority said the Pakistan Navy (PN) and the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA), using multiple air and sea assets, successfully located and identified the crashed aircraft. Search efforts are continuing to locate the five crew members who were on board at the time of the accident.
The cargo aircraft had reported a navigational system issue at 9:18 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time on Tuesday while en route from Sharjah to Karachi. Air traffic controllers at the Karachi Area Control Centre (ACC) immediately guided the aircraft following the report.
However, at 9:21 p.m., radar showed the aircraft rapidly descending and making a sudden change in heading before both radar contact and communications were lost. Initial reports indicated the aircraft disappeared approximately 155 nautical miles west of Karachi.
Following the loss of contact, the Rescue Coordination Centre activated a large-scale search and rescue operation involving multiple civilian and military agencies.
The PAA said efforts remain focused on recovering the missing crew members and that additional information will be released as the search operation progresses. LORD
