Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Pakistani search and rescue teams on Wednesday located the wreckage of a private cargo plane that went missing while flying from Sharjah in the UAE to Karachi with five crew members on board, officials said. The Boeing 737 cargo aircraft, operated by Karachi-based private airline K2 Airways, had lost contact with air traffic controllers in Karachi on Tuesday night.
The Pakistan Airports Authority said the wreckage was recovered from 53 nautical miles south of Ormara on the Balochistan coast after about 12 hours of search and rescue operations in the deep Arabian Sea. It said the Pakistan Navy and the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency “successfully located and identified wreckage” of the plane, adding that “efforts are underway to find the missing crew members”.
advertisement
A reliable PAA source said the wreckage was found close to the location where the aircraft had lost contact with controllers in Karachi. “There are remote chances of the five crew members having survived the crash,” the source said.
The crew, all Pakistanis, were identified as Captain Muhammad Rizwan Idris, First Officer Faisal Jatoi, flight engineers Muhammad Hamid and Muhammad Arif Siddiqui, and loadmaster Muhammad Taufiq Khan.
Following the recovery of the wreckage, the relevant authorities cordoned off the area and began further investigation and evidence collection, an official said. Officials said investigations were under way to determine the cause of the crash, while efforts to gather information about the crew members on board and the recovery operation were also continuing.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the Civil Aviation Authority, Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Air Force to intensify search and rescue operations in the Arabian Sea. President Asif Ali Zardari extended condolences to the families of the crew and expressed solidarity with them during this hour of trial, according to a statement from his office.
The aircraft reportedly went missing while flying at an altitude of 34,000 feet. It had reportedly remained in Sharjah for about 10 days after developing a technical fault. K2 Airways is a private airline based in Karachi and has been operating cargo flights since 2018.
The PAA had earlier said the cargo flight reported a navigational system issue at 9.18 pm local time on Tuesday and was promptly guided by Karachi Area Control Centre. “However, at 09:22 pm (local time), the aircraft was observed on radar rapidly descending with a rapid heading change. Subsequently, radar contact and communication were lost approximately 155 NM west of Karachi,” it said. Sources said commercial vessels operated by the National Shipping Corporation were also deployed to help scan the waters.
The wreckage has now been located in the Arabian Sea, while the search for the five missing crew members and the investigation into the crash continue.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
