Rescuers are urgently searching for five crew members after a Pakistani cargo plane crashed into the Arabian Sea while approaching Karachi. Submerged wreckage from the K2 Airways Cargo Boeing 737 was located on Wednesday, 53 nautical miles south of Ormara port.

The 27-year-old freighter experienced a problem with its navigational system shortly after 9:18 pm Pakistan Standard Time. Air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft as it began a rapid descent. Flight-tracking data indicated drastic altitude changes, including a plunge and rapid ascent, followed by a final dive from over 36,000 feet.

K2 Airways identified the missing crew as pilot Muhammad Rizwan Idris, co-pilot Faisal Jatoi, flight engineers Muhammad Hamid and Muhammad Arif Siddiqui, and aircraft loader Muhammad Taufiq Khan. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the government to deploy all available resources for the search and rescue operation, expressing sympathy to the families.

Retired Rear Admiral Faisal Shah commented that locating the main wreckage might require specialized deep-sea equipment. The incident marks Pakistan's first fatal air crash since 2020, when a Pakistan International Airlines flight crashed in Karachi, killing 97 people.

In May 2020, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight crashed in Karachi shortly after attempting to land, resulting in 97 fatalities. That incident led to investigations and the suspension of 150 pilots due to alleged license fraud, according to the aviation minister at the time.

The recovered black box from the 2020 PIA crash was crucial in the subsequent investigation into what was then the worst air disaster in Pakistan since 2012. The investigation faced some objections from pilots' unions regarding representation.

The current search efforts involve both navy and civilian assets, including planes and boats. The challenge of finding the submerged wreckage highlights the complexities of maritime search operations, particularly when dealing with potentially deep-sea locations.

Officials have not yet commented on the specific cause of the navigational system failure or the subsequent rapid descent. The focus remains on the search for the crew members and the recovery of the aircraft's main fuselage for further investigation.