Pakistani authorities launched a search operation Wednesday after a cargo aircraft carrying five crew members vanished off the coast of Karachi while traveling from the United Arab Emirates, officials confirmed.
According to Pakistan’s airport authority, the Boeing 737 lost contact with air traffic controllers at 9:21 p.m. local time (4:21 p.m. GMT) Tuesday, shortly after departing Sharjah bound for Karachi. Officials reported the plane dropped rapidly in altitude before all communication was cut off.
Just before the aircraft disappeared, a problem with its navigation system had been reported. Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 showed the plane experiencing dramatic swings in altitude before entering a steep downward descent.
Pakistan’s navy and air force have both been deployed to search for the missing aircraft, officials said.
The plane was operated by K2 Airways, a private cargo carrier headquartered in Karachi. In a statement released Wednesday, the airline identified the five crew members on board and said it was cooperating with investigators.
“We continue to pray, earnestly, for the safety of our colleagues,” the airline said in its statement.
K2 Airways also said it was “fully cooperating with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies” as the search effort pressed on.
As of Wednesday, officials had not identified a cause for the disappearance, and no information was available about the status of the crew members.
The Boeing 737 joined K2 Airways’ fleet in 2024, though the aircraft itself has a long operational history spanning more than two decades. It first took to the skies with Russian airline Aeroflot in 1999, then flew for Garuda Indonesia starting in 2004. The plane was converted to a cargo aircraft in 2012 and later operated under TNT Airways and ASL Airlines before being transferred to the Pakistani carrier.
In its most recent role, the aircraft had been used to haul cargo across the Arabian Gulf and surrounding region.
The search was still ongoing Wednesday as Pakistan’s military and civil aviation officials worked to locate the aircraft and piece together what occurred in the plane’s final moments before radar contact and communications were lost.
