Cargo Plane Disappears Near Karachi With Five Crew Members

Islamabad. Search is underway for a cargo plane that went missing in the sea area near Pakistan's southern city of Karachi.

Pakistani aviation officials said five crew members were on board the plane. According to the Pakistan Airports Authority, the Boeing 737 cargo plane descended at high speed at 9:21 PM local time on Tuesday night and went out of contact with air traffic control. The plane was flying from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, to Karachi.

According to the authority, a few minutes before losing contact, the plane had informed that its navigation system had a problem. The missing plane was being operated by a private cargo airline based in Karachi called K-2 Airway.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the cargo company, identifying all five crew members on board, stated that it was fully cooperating with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies in the search and rescue operation.

According to preliminary data from flight monitoring platform Flightradar24, the plane suddenly descended rapidly after an unusual fluctuation in its flight altitude. The Airports Authority stated that the Pakistan Navy, Air Force, and other relevant bodies have been deployed for the search of the missing plane.