Cargo plane with five crew members goes missing over Arabian Sea

A search and rescue operation involving Pakistan's air force and navy was under way off the coast of Karachi on Wednesday after a cargo aircraft with five crew members on board disappeared from radar over the Arabian Sea, officials said.

The K2 Airways Boeing 737 was en route from Sharjah in United Arab Emirates (UAE) when it disappeared 155 nautical miles west of Karachi, Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.

The aircraft experienced a sharp loss of altitude before regaining height and then descending again at around 9:30 pm local time on Tuesday, the authority said.

Military aircraft and navy rescue boats were taking part in the search, but had not yet located the missing plane by Wednesday morning, an official told dpa on Wednesday morning.

Those on board included a pilot, co-pilot, two engineers and a loadmaster. The Boeing 737 had been in service since 1999, initially as a passenger aircraft before later being converted for cargo operations.

K2 Airways is a Pakistani cargo airline that began operations in 2018.