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Wreckage from a cargo plane that vanished off Pakistan’s coast has been located as a desperate search continues for five missing crew members.

Civilian and naval teams discovered debris from the aircraft, which disappeared while on approach to the southern port of Karachi on Wednesday.

Private carrier K2 Airways operated the plane that had departed from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. It reported a navigational system malfunction before losing contact with air traffic control late Tuesday.

Pakistani navy and civilian search teams, utilising both aircraft and ships, found the plane’s wreckage after approximately 12 hours of searching in the Arabian Sea, Pakistan’s Airports Authority said on X.

Pakistan Navy personnel shift the wreckage of a cargo plane of the private carrier K2 Airways into a naval ship (Pakistan Navy via AP)

Retired Rear Admiral Faisal Shah noted the challenging conditions, with searchers contending with rough seas. He added that the main wreckage of the plane, believed to be lying at a depth of around 3,000 metres (9,800 feet), would be significantly harder to locate, requiring specialised equipment.

Mr Shah also explained that ocean currents, waves, and wind could carry floating debris far from the actual crash site, meaning the recovered parts do not necessarily pinpoint the exact impact location.

K2 Airways identified the missing crew members as Captain Muhammad Rizwan Idris, First Officer Faisal Jatoi, flight engineers Muhammad Hamid and Muhammad Arif Siddiqui, and aircraft loader Muhammad Taufiq Khan.

The airline stated: “We continue to pray earnestly for the safety of our colleagues.”

The main wreckage of the plane is believed to be lying at a depth of around 3,000 metres (9,800 feet) (Pakistan Navy via AP)

Ghulam Nabi Bahrani, the father-in-law of co-pilot Faisal Jatoi, said that his family had been in regular contact with Mr Jatoi while he was in Sharjah, and he had called his wife shortly before departure on Tuesday. Mr Bahrani confirmed that government officials have been in touch with the family since the aircraft went missing.

“All we can do is wait and pray for a miracle,” he said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his condolences to the families of the five crew members and directed the government to deploy all available resources for the search effort.

Earlier, Pakistan’s Airports Authority stated on X that radar data indicated the aircraft made a sudden change in heading and rapidly descended before radar and radio contact were lost at approximately 9:21] p.m., about 155 nautical miles (287 kilometres) west of Karachi.

The navy and civilian teams in planes and ships found the plane debris after about 12 hours of searching (Pakistan Navy via AP)

Aviation expert Imran Aslam told local broadcaster ARY News that the cause of the aircraft’s disappearance from radar remained unclear. He highlighted that even in the event of an engine failure, an aircraft would typically glide rather than plunge suddenly.

Mr Aslam stressed that the precise cause would only become apparent once investigators had gathered more evidence.

In May 2020, a Pakistan International Airlines flight carrying 98 people crashed into a densely populated neighbourhood near Karachi airport during its landing attempt. All but one of the 99 people aboard perished, with a subsequent government investigation concluding that human error by both pilots and air traffic controllers caused the disaster.