Pakistan expands search for cargo plane after it vanished from radar, lost traffic with air traffic control

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Navy and civilian authorities on Wednesday expanded the search for a cargo plane feared to have crashed after it disappeared from radar and lost contact with air traffic control en route to the southern port city of Karachi.Officials said the Karachi-bound aircraft, operated by the private carrier K2 Airways, reported a navigational system issue while flying from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates with five people on board.The search is still ongoing, according to three officials familiar with the rescue operation.The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the possible crash.They added that the vast search area in the Arabian Sea and rough monsoon seas were posing significant challenges to the search-and-rescue operation.Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sympathy with the families of the five crew members, according to a statement from his office, and directed the government to deploy all available resources for the search effort.There has been no official confirmation of the aircraft’s fate.In a statement, K2 Airways said search and rescue operations are still being conducted by Pakistani authorities, and the company is fully cooperating with the aviation authorities.

It identified those missing crew as Capt.Muhammad Rizwan Idris, First Officer Faisal Jatoi, flight engineers Muhammad Hamid and Muhammad Arif Siddiqui, and aircraft loader Muhammad Taufiq Khan.“We continue to pray earnestly for the safety of our colleagues,” it said.Earlier, Pakistan’s Airports Authority said on X that radar data showed the aircraft making a sharp change in heading and rapidly descending before radar and radio contact were lost at about 9:21 p.m., approximately 155 nautical miles (287 kilometers, 178 miles) west of Karachi.According to the authority, Pakistan’s military and civilian agencies activated the Rescue Coordination Center and launched search-and-rescue operations at sea shortly after th...