KARACHI — A K2 Airways cargo plane crashed into the Arabian Sea southwest of Karachi on July 7, 2026, resulting in a multi-day search operation by Pakistani authorities for its five crew members. The aircraft reported a malfunction in its navigation system before losing radio and radar contact late Tuesday, according to the Pakistan Airports Authority.

The search for the five-member crew entered its second day on Thursday. Pakistan Navy search and rescue teams operated in rough seas. Ships and aircraft searched waters nearly 300 kilometers (180 miles) southwest of Karachi for the missing plane. Two officials stated that the aircraft's main fuselage and the five crew members remain missing.

Wreckage from the cargo plane was recovered on Wednesday, but no sign of the missing crew members was found at that time. The Pakistan Airports Authority said Navy ships and the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency located and recovered wreckage approximately 12 hours after the aircraft's disappearance. Debris was recovered about 100 kilometers (60 miles) off Ormara, a coastal town on Pakistan's southwestern Makran coast in Balochistan province. Officials said the debris was scattered across a wide area.

The Pakistan Airports Authority posted photographs on X showing search crews recovering pieces of the wreckage from the sea. The authority said radar data indicated the aircraft made a sharp change in heading and rapidly descended before radar and radio contact were lost at about 9:21 p.m. Tuesday. Contact was lost approximately 287 kilometers (178 miles) west of Karachi as the plane approached Karachi from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.

K2 Airways identified the 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. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed authorities to use all available resources in the search and expressed sympathy with the families of the missing crew.

Retired Rear Adm. Faisal Shah said recovering floating debris does not necessarily identify the exact crash site because wind, waves, and ocean currents can carry wreckage over long distances. Shah stated that the search for the main wreckage could take months or even years because the aircraft is believed to have crashed in waters about 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) deep. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.