KARACHI: A cargo plane traveling from Sharjah to Karachi has crashed in the sea after lossing contact with air traffic control, the Pakistan Airport Authority (PAA) confirmed, ARY News reported.
The plane crashed into the sea near Ormara almost 300 Km away from Karachi.
The aircraft lost contact approximately 155 nautical miles west of Karachi, according to a PAA spokesperson. A search and rescue operation has since been launched at sea.
The plane lost control from the air traffic control around 9:21 pm PST.
There were five crew members on board the K-2 Airways Boeing 737 cargo plane which was being flown by pilots Rizwan Idrees and first officer Faisal Mahmood.
The PAA stated that a technical malfunction had been reported in the aircraft’s navigational system prior to the disappearance.
Although the Area Control Center promptly provided guidance to the flight crew, the aircraft reportedly began to lose altitude rapidly just a few minutes later. The PAA added that the plane made a sudden change in direction shortly before communication was completely lost.
Following the incident, the Rescue Coordination Centre was immediately activated, and a coordinated search and rescue operation was launched across various maritime and aviation agencies to locate the missing aircraft.
Rescue and Search Operation
According to sources, the Pakistan Navy warship PNS Zulfiquar has departed for the affected area, while a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Saab airborne early warning and control aircraft has been scrambled from the Bholari Airbase near Jamshoro, Sindh, to join the search operation.
Simultaneously, a Pakistan Navy ATR aircraft is participating in the search, operating out of Turbat. Furthermore, the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) oil tanker MT Lahore has also been deployed to assist in the maritime search and rescue mission.