Pakistan searches for Boeing cargo plane with five aboard missing off Karachi

Pakistani search teams on Wednesday continued to search the Arabian Sea for a cargo plane that went missing while flying from Sharjah in the UAE to Karachi, with five crew members on board. The Boeing 737 cargo aircraft, operated by Karachi-based private airline K2 Airways, disappeared from radar on Tuesday night after it was seen descending rapidly and making a sudden change in direction during the flight.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked the Civil Aviation Authority, the Navy and the Pakistan Air Force to use all available resources for the search operation, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. The Pakistan Airports Authority said personnel from several agencies were taking part in the operation, but added that rough sea conditions were making the effort difficult and no wreckage or other signs of the aircraft had been found so far.

The Pakistan Airports Authority said contact with the aircraft was lost at 09:21 pm local time on Tuesday, about 300 kilometres west of Karachi. The aircraft reportedly went missing while flying at an altitude of 34,000 feet and is believed to have disappeared over the Arabian Sea, south of Ormara on the Balochistan coast.