SouthernWorldwide.com – The mystery surrounding a missing Boeing 737 cargo plane has taken a heartbreaking turn for the families of the five crew members who are still unaccounted for.
Officials announced new details regarding the K2 Airways aircraft that vanished off the coast of Pakistan on Tuesday. The plane was en route to Karachi, Pakistan, from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates when it disappeared around 9:21 p.m. on Tuesday.
Wreckage from the aircraft was discovered on Wednesday, approximately 53 miles south of Ormara. However, the search for the missing crew persisted into Thursday.
The identities of the five crew members have been released, according to The Associated Press. They are Captain Muhammad Rizwan Idris, First Officer Faisal Jatoi, flight engineers Muhammad Hamid and Muhammad Arif Siddiqui, and aircraft loader Muhammad Taufiq Khan. This information was published by the airline via a Facebook post.
Ghulam Nabi Bahrani, the father-in-law of co-pilot Faisal Jatoi, shared with the AP that the family had been in regular contact with Jatoi while he was in Sharjah.
Bahrani mentioned that Jatoi had reportedly spoken to his wife shortly before departing the UAE on Tuesday. He expressed the family’s desperate hope, stating, “All we can do is wait and pray for a miracle.”
A coordinated search effort, involving both military and civilian teams utilizing planes and ships, located the plane’s wreckage in the Arabian Sea after approximately 12 hours of searching. This was announced by Pakistan’s Airports Authority on X.
The agency further stated that various air and sea assets were deployed to find the wreckage, and efforts are actively underway to locate the missing crew members. They indicated that more details would be provided as the search-and-rescue operation progresses.
Shortly before losing contact, the aircraft’s crew reported an issue with their “navigation system.” The plane disappeared from radar approximately 155 nautical miles west of Karachi.
Radar data indicated that the aircraft experienced a rapid descent before it vanished from radar screens.
The aircraft in question, K2 Airways’ sole plane, is a Boeing 737-400 freighter. According to aviation databases such as Airfleets.net and Planespotters.net, the plane is approximately 27 years old.
K2 Airways, established in 2018, issued a statement obtained by the AP, conveying that they “will continue to pray earnestly for the safety of our colleagues.”
Military assets have been mobilized to support the ongoing search operations. The Pakistan Navy deployed the frigate PNS Zulfiqar to the area where the plane disappeared. Additionally, Pakistan’s air force has dispatched aircraft to assist in the search efforts.
