Pakistan: Rescuers find wreckage of crashed cargo plane

Pakistani authorities confirmed Wednesday that the wreckage of a K2 Airways cargo plane, which disappeared off the coast of Karachi, has been found. The aircraft was en route from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Karachi when it lost contact with air traffic control late Tuesday night.

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Efforts are underway to find the missing crew members.

Rescuers, including the Pakistan Navy and maritime rescue agencies, scoured the Arabian Sea for 12 hours. The search operation faced significant challenges due to rough monsoon seas off the southern coast near Ormara, where the wreckage was eventually located.

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We continue to pray, earnestly, for the safety ​of our colleagues.

Five crew members – two pilots, two engineers, and one support staff member – were on board the Boeing 737 cargo plane. Efforts are actively underway to find the missing individuals, with authorities coordinating the search through various agencies. The airline expressed its prayers for the safety of its colleagues, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif extended his condolences to the families of the crew.

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The Associated Press cited officials 'familiar with the rescue operation,' speaking on condition of anonymity, as saying that the vast search area in the Arabian Sea and rough monsoon seas had posed significant challenges to the search-and-rescue operation.

Preliminary data from the aircraft indicated a series of altitude changes, including a rapid descent. Radar systems showed the plane descending sharply before communication was lost. Aviation officials noted an extremely steep and abnormal rate of descent, though experts caution against premature conclusions without further information. The aircraft, manufactured in 1999, was previously a passenger plane before being converted for cargo operations.

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Anytime you see ⁠something ​extreme like that, it catches your eye, but it is too soon to say ​what any of it means without more information.