Lahore: A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) cargo plane en route to Karachi from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) went missing with five crew members on board, the Pakistan Airports Authority said.
The authority said a search and rescue operation has been launched at sea in collaboration with various departments to locate the missing plane.
The PAA, K2 Airways Boeing 737 cargo plane was en route to Karachi from Sharjah when it reported a technical fault in its navigation system at 9.18 pm. The Karachi Area Control Centre (ACC) immediately provided the necessary guidance to the plane, it said.
However, at around 9.22 pm, the plane was seen descending rapidly on the radar and changing direction rapidly. The aircraft then lost radar contact and communication with the aircraft about 155 nautical miles west of Karachi, the PAA said.
The Rescue Coordination Center was activated immediately after the incident and a massive search and rescue operation is being carried out at sea with the help of various agencies. The Pakistan Airports Authority said that a total of five crew members were on board the missing aircraft.