Wreckage of K2 Airways cargo plane found south of Ormara: PAA
The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said on Wednesday that the wreckage of the K2 Airways cargo plane that went missing last night was found south of Ormara following a search and rescue operation.
It said the Pakistan Navy and its Pakistan Maritime Security Agency successfully located and identified the wreckage 53 nautical miles south of Ormara after 12 hours of search and rescue operations in the deep sea.
PN and PMSA after 12 hours of Search & Rescue operations in deep Sea have successfully located and identified wreckage of K2 Airways Cargo B737 which was declared missing last night. The wreckage was recovered from 53 NM South of ORMARA. pic.twitter.com/0dZpj8s7u3
— Pakistan Airports Authority (@Pk_PAA_Official) July 8, 2026
It added that various air and sea-borne assets were employed to locate the wreckage, and efforts were underway to find the missing crew members, with further details to follow as the operation progressed.
Various air & sea borne assets were employed by PN & PMSA to locate the wreckage and efforts are underway to find the missing crew members.
Further details will follow as Search & Rescue operation progresses.
— Pakistan Airports Authority (@Pk_PAA_Official) July 8, 2026
The airline earlier said it was fully cooperating with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies after its cargo aircraft disappeared following a crash into the Arabian Sea while en route from Sharjah to Karachi.
The statement was the first official response issued by the private airline since news of the aircraft’s disappearance emerged on Tuesday night.
In the statement, the airline said its Boeing 737-400 cargo aircraft, registration AP-BOI, was going from Sharjah to Karachi when it “lost contact with Air Traffic Control at about 21:21 hours according to Pakistan time.”
The airline confirmed that five crew members were on board the aircraft when contact was lost.
The crew comprised Captain Mohammad Rizwan Idrees, the pilot in command, Faisal Mehmood, the first officer, Muhammad Toufique Khan, the load master, and engineers Arif Siddiqui and Muhammad Hamid.
The airline concluded by expressing hope for the missing crew, saying, “We continue to pray, earnestly, for the safety of our colleagues.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep grief and sorrow over the disappearance of the cargo aircraft, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The prime minister also expressed his heartfelt sympathies to the families of the five crew members on board the aircraft, the PMO said.
The premier directed the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, Pakistan Navy, and Pakistan Air Force to intensify search and rescue operations in the Arabian Sea and utilise all available resources in the effort, it added.
وزیراعظم محمد شہباز شریف کا شارجہ سے کراچی آنے والے نجی کارگو طیارے (K2 Airways) کے بحیرہ عرب میں گر کر لاپتہ ہونے کے افسوسناک حادثے پر گہرے رنج و غم اور افسوس کا اظہار۔
وزیراعظم کا طیارے میں سوار عملے کے پانچ افراد کے اہلِ خانہ سے دلی ہمدردی کا اظہار۔ pic.twitter.com/r7QFOzNXQq
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) July 8, 2026
Search and rescue operation
Late on Tuesday night, the PAA said that a search and rescue operation was underway after an aircraft of K2 Airways with five crew members aboard was reported missing off the coast of Karachi.
In a series of posts on X, the PAA said a K2 Airways Boeing 737 cargo flight was en route from Sharjah to Karachi at 2118 PST when it reported a navigational system issue and was promptly guided by the Karachi Area Control Centre.
K2 Airways B 737 of Pakistan Cargo Flight enroute from Sharjah to Karachi at time 2118PST reported Navigational system issue and was promptly guided by KARACHI ACC.
— Pakistan Airports Authority (@Pk_PAA_Official) July 7, 2026
“However, at time 2121 PST, the aircraft was observed on radar rapidly descending and with rapid heading change, subsequently, radar contact and communication were lost approximately 155 nautical miles west of Karachi,” the PAA said.
However; at time 2121PST aircraft was observed on RADAR rapidly descending and with rapid heading change, subsequently RADAR contact and communication was lost approximately 155 NM west of Karachi.
— Pakistan Airports Authority (@Pk_PAA_Official) July 7, 2026
It added that a rescue coordination centre was activated and a coordinated search and rescue operation was launched at sea through various agencies to locate the missing aircraft, which had five crew members on board.
According to officials, the causes of the accident will be determined after the investigation.
Following the occurrence RESCUE COORD CENTRE has been activated and coordinated Search & Rescue launched at sea through various agencies to locate the missing aircraft.
There were five crew members onboard the aircraft.
— Pakistan Airports Authority (@Pk_PAA_Official) July 7, 2026
A statement from sources said the Pakistan Navy’s warship PNS Zulfiqar was dispatched to the affected area in the ongoing search and rescue operation. It added that a Pakistan Air Force SAAB plane and a Pakistan Navy ATR plane had also taken off to join the search operation.
The statement said that Pakistan National Shipping Corporation’s commercial ship Lahore was also deployed for the search and rescue operation.
Flight-tracking service Flightradar said that preliminary ADS-B data “indicates a possible crash”.
K2 Airways #KTA1732 is reportedly missing. Preliminary ADS-B data indicate a possible crash in the sea southwest of Karachi. https://t.co/IIMDHaGTAy pic.twitter.com/KbyI5kKmh1
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) July 7, 2026
The final minutes of Flightradar24’s tracking data appeared chaotic, showing the plane plunging about 5,000 feet in less than a minute before soaring about 6,000 feet in 30 seconds and then entering a catastrophic dive from 36,550 feet.
The last transmitted data point placed the aircraft at 1,100 feet above sea level, with a vertical rate of minus 22,400 feet per minute — about 400 kilometres per hour — an extremely steep and abnormal rate of descent.
According to the flight tracker, the craft named AP-BOI is a Boeing 737-4M0(BDSF) and is K2 Airways’ only aircraft, which entered service with the carrier in 2024. Its previous flight was on June 28, according to Flightradar24 data.
“It began flying as a passenger aircraft, originally with Aeroflot in 1999, then with Garuda Indonesia in 2004. In 2012, the aircraft was converted to a freighter and operated by TNT Airways, then ASL Airlines,” it said.
The missing aircraft is one of Boeing’s decades-old 737-400s, two generations older than the 737 MAX that has been involved in a safety crisis. It uses engines made by CFM International, jointly owned by GE Aerospace and France’s Safran.
The 737-400 was first delivered as a passenger plane to Russia’s Aeroflot in 1999 and was converted to a freighter in 2012, according to Flightradar24.
The incident would be Pakistan’s first fatal crash since 2020, when a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A320 came down short of the runway in Karachi, killing 97 people.
Additional input from ReutersRead More
