The plane, operated by the private K2 Airways, had five crew members on board and was en route from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Karachi when it went missing on Tuesday evening after reporting a "navigational system issue," the authority said.

Coordinated search and rescue operation launched at sea involving various agencies to locate the missing aircraft; five crew members were on board.

Coordinated search and rescue operation launched at sea involving various agencies to locate the missing aircraft.

A Pakistan cargo plane lost contact Tuesday night after reporting navigational issues. The aircraft experienced sharp altitude changes before a steep final descent. Early flight…