Pakistani search and rescue teams faced challenging conditions on Thursday as they continued the search for the five-member crew of a cargo plane that crashed into the Arabian Sea. The search entered its second day with officials reporting that wreckage had been recovered Wednesday, but without any sign of the missing crew.
The aircraft, operated by private carrier K2 Airways, lost radio and radar contact late Tuesday after reporting a malfunction in its navigation system, according to the Pakistan Airports Authority. Ships and aircraft have been combing the waters approximately 300 kilometers (180 miles) southwest of Karachi, where the plane disappeared from radar while en route from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Two officials close to the search operations confirmed that the plane's main fuselage and the crew members are still missing. They noted that the rough seas are significantly hindering the search efforts.
Pakistan Navy ships and the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency located and recovered debris about 100 kilometers (60 miles) off Ormara, a coastal town in Balochistan province, roughly 12 hours after the aircraft went missing. Photographs released by the Pakistan Airports Authority showed search crews collecting pieces of the wreckage from the sea. Officials stated that the debris was widely scattered, with strong winds, rough seas, and ocean currents complicating efforts to pinpoint the crash site and locate the crew.
Retired Rear Adm. Faisal Shah indicated that recovering the main wreckage could take months or even years, as the plane is believed to have crashed in waters approximately 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) deep, requiring specialized equipment. He also explained that floating debris can be carried far from the actual crash site by natural forces, referencing the difficulties encountered in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.
K2 Airways identified the missing crew as Captain Muhammad Rizwan Idris, First Officer Faisal Jatoi, flight engineers Muhammad Hamid and Muhammad Arif Siddiqui, and aircraft loader Muhammad Taufiq Khan. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed authorities to utilize all available resources for the search and has expressed his condolences to the families of the missing crew.
Radar data suggested the aircraft made a sharp descent and change in heading before losing contact around 9:21 p.m. Tuesday, approximately 287 kilometers (178 miles) west of Karachi. Pakistan has a history of aviation accidents, including a Pakistan International Airlines crash in May 2020 that killed all but two of the 99 people on board.