More than 12 hours after a frantic search began, Pakistani naval and maritime rescue teams have recovered wreckage from the K2 Airways Boeing 737 cargo aircraft that disappeared over the Arabian Sea, raising fears that all five crew members on board have been lost.
The Boeing 737 cargo aircraft was operating a flight between Karachi, Pakistan, and Sharjah, UAE, when it suddenly encountered problems on Tuesday night. Air traffic controllers had earlier been assisting the crew after the aircraft reported a navigation system issue.
Just minutes before contact was lost, the pilot made a haunting final radio call, reporting that the aircraft was “rolling or floating.” Moments later, radar data showed the jet entering a dramatic descent, reportedly losing around 5,000 feet within seconds before disappearing from radar at approximately 9:21 PM local time.
Flight tracking data indicates the aircraft descended from cruising altitude at an unusually rapid rate, leaving aviation experts puzzled. Specialists have noted that the aircraft’s behavior does not resemble a typical engine failure, suggesting investigators will closely examine other possible causes.
On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Airports Authority confirmed that naval search teams had successfully located pieces of the aircraft in the Arabian Sea, off the coast near Ormara. Images released by authorities show rescue personnel recovering sections of the fuselage bearing the “K2 Air” logo from the water.
Recovery operations remain extremely challenging due to rough sea conditions and the crash site’s estimated depth of nearly 9,800 feet. Authorities have warned that locating the main wreckage and recovering any flight recorders could be a lengthy and technically demanding operation.
K2 Airways has identified the five crew members on board as:
• Captain Muhammad Rizwan Idris
• First Officer Faisal Jatoi
• Flight Engineer Muhammad Hamid
• Flight Engineer Muhammad Arif Siddiqui
• Aircraft Loader Muhammad Taufiq Khan
In a statement, the airline said it continues to pray for its colleagues and is fully cooperating with Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies investigating the tragedy.
The exact cause of the crash remains unknown, and investigators are expected to focus on the reported navigation system issue, the aircraft’s sudden loss of altitude, cockpit communications, and data from the flight recorders if they can be recovered.
