Missing K2 Airways Boeing 737 Vanishes Over Arabian Sea With Five Crew on Board
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A cargo plane operated by Pakistani airline K2 Airways has gone missing off the coast of Karachi after losing contact with air traffic control late Tuesday night, triggering an urgent search-and-rescue operation across the Arabian Sea.
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The Boeing 737, a 27-year-old converted freighter, was on a routine flight from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Karachi when the crew reported a navigational system problem at approximately 9:18 pm Pakistan Standard Time. Shortly after that transmission, all contact was lost.
Five crew members, no passengers
There were five people on board: pilot in command Mohammad Rizwan Idrees, first officer Faisal Mehmood, load master Muhammad Toufique Khan, and engineers Arif Siddiqui and Mohammad Hamid. The aircraft was carrying cargo, not passengers.
What the flight data shows
Early data from flight-tracking service Flightradar24 painted a troubling picture. The aircraft appeared to undergo a series of sharp altitude changes before entering a steep final descent, southwest of Karachi. The data suggests the plane may have gone down into the sea, though no wreckage or survivors had been confirmed at the time of reporting.
Air traffic controllers on the ground reportedly attempted to guide the crew after the navigation issue was first flagged, but communications broke down before any resolution.
Search operation underway
Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority and the Pakistan Airports Authority confirmed that a coordinated, multi-agency search-and-rescue operation had been launched across the Arabian Sea. Maritime and aerial assets were deployed to the area southwest of Karachi where the aircraft’s last known position was recorded.
K2 Airways, which is based in Karachi, said it was cooperating fully with the Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies. In a statement posted to Facebook, the airline said: “We continue to pray, earnestly, for the safety of our colleagues.” Boeing did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A familiar stretch of sky, a sudden silence
The Sharjah-to-Karachi route is a well-traveled cargo corridor, making the sudden disappearance all the more striking. The fact that the crew had time to report a technical fault before going silent suggests something changed rapidly after that initial call, though investigators will need physical evidence or flight recorder data to determine exactly what went wrong.
The search operation was continuing as of Wednesday, with authorities focusing on the sea area southwest of Karachi. Families of the five crew members are awaiting news.
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