The wreckage of a K2 Airways cargo plane travelling from Sharjah to Karachi has been found in the Arabian Sea, as search teams continue looking for the five crew members.

KARACHI: Search teams have found the wreckage of a K2 Airways cargo plane that disappeared during a flight from Sharjah to Karachi after reporting a navigation system problem. The Boeing 737 was located in the Arabian Sea, about 53 nautical miles south of Ormara, following a 12-hour search involving Pakistan’s navy and maritime rescue authorities.

The aircraft lost contact with air traffic control on Tuesday night while approaching Karachi. According to Pakistan Airports Authority, the pilots reported a navigation system issue before radar showed the aircraft making sharp altitude changes and then descending rapidly. Flight-tracking data also indicated an unusual flight path shortly before contact was lost.

Authorities have not confirmed the fate of the five crew members, and search and rescue operations remain under way. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his condolences to the families and directed civil aviation authorities, the navy and the air force to use all available resources in the ongoing search.

The aircraft, a 27-year-old Boeing 737 converted from a passenger jet into a freighter, was flying from Sharjah International Airport to Karachi when the incident occurred. Aviation experts say it is still too early to determine what caused the aircraft to disappear, with investigators expected to examine flight data, maintenance records and weather conditions before reaching any conclusions.

The incident has drawn attention across the region because of the aircraft’s departure from the UAE and the dramatic final moments recorded by flight-tracking systems. As investigators work to establish what happened, the K2 Airways cargo plane crash has become Pakistan’s most significant aviation emergency in several years, with authorities focusing on locating the missing crew and recovering further evidence from the crash site.