KARACHI: A cargo aircraft operated by K2 Airways crashed into the Arabian Sea off the Karachi coast on Tuesday, with all five people on board confirmed dead, aviation sources said.
The Boeing 737 had been sent to Sharjah for repairs after developing a technical fault and was on a ferry flight back to Karachi when it crashed about 120 miles south of Karachi, according to sources. The aircraft made its last contact with Karachi Air Traffic Control at 9:20pm local time, with the crew reporting a communications system failure before the aircraft began descending rapidly and subsequently crashed into the sea.
All five victims were Pakistani nationals. The deceased have been identified as Pilot Muhammad Rizwan Idris, Co-Pilot Faisal Jatui, Engineers Muhammad Hamid and Muhammad Arif Siddiqui, and Load Master Muhammad Taufiq Khan.
A multi-agency search and rescue operation has been launched following the crash, involving the Pakistan Navy warship PNS Zulfiqar, a Pakistan Air Force Saab 2000 AEW&C aircraft, and a Pakistan Navy ATR aircraft. A Pakistan National Shipping Corporation commercial vessel has also been dispatched to assist in recovery efforts at the crash site.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known, and authorities have launched an investigation into the tragic incident.
