Pakistan searches for missing crew after cargo plane crash into Arabian Sea

Search teams found the wreckage of a K2 Airways cargo Boeing 737 in the Arabian Sea on Wednesday, but all five crew members aboard remained missing as rescuers worked 53 nautical miles, or 98 kilometers, south of Ormara on Pakistan’s southern coast. Pakistan Airports Authority said the aircraft lost contact with air traffic control at 21:21 local time on Tuesday, July 7, after the crew reported a navigational system problem on the Sharjah-to-Karachi flight.

Civilian and navy crews searched by air and sea for about 12 hours before locating the wreckage. The plane had departed Sharjah International Airport in the United Arab Emirates for Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, and the service was KTA1732, a Boeing 737 cargo flight. The aircraft was a Boeing 737-400SF freighter. K2 Airways is a private cargo airline based in Karachi and was founded in 2018.

Rough seas are complicating the operation, and the main wreckage may lie in water about 3,000 meters, or 9,800 feet, deep. Retired Rear Adm. Faisal Shah said that depth would require specialized equipment and that debris alone may not show where the aircraft came down, a particular problem in open water where currents can carry wreckage far from the impact point.

The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority spent years trying to rebuild confidence through reforms in certification, inspections and staffing, and ICAO said those changes helped restore international standing. The United Kingdom removed Pakistan from its air safety list in 2025, and EASA lifted its suspension on Pakistani operators in 2024.