Cargo plane wreckage found off Pakistan's coast as search continues for 5 missing crew

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Civilian and navy searchers off Pakistan's coast Wednesday located and recovered wreckage of a cargo plane that disappeared while approaching the southern port of Karachi while the search continues for five missing crew members, officials said.

The aircraft operated by the private carrier K2 Airways had departed from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and reported a navigational system problem before losing contact with air traffic control late Tuesday.

The Pakistani navy and civilian teams in planes and ships found the plane debris after about 12 hours of searching in the Arabian Sea, Pakistan’s Airports Authority said in a post on X.

Retired Rear Adm. Faisal Shah said searchers were dealing with rough seas and that they were still looking for the main wreckage of the plane, which could prove much more difficult to find because the area is believed to be about 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) deep, requiring specialized equipment.

He said recovering debris does not necessarily reveal the aircraft’s exact crash site because ocean currents, waves and wind can carry the floating wreckage far from where the aircraft went down.

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

“We continue to pray earnestly for the safety of our colleagues,” it said.

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

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

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif released a statement expressing sympathy with the families of the five crew members, and directed the government to deploy all available resources for the search effort.

Pakistan’s Airports Authority said earlier on X that radar data showed the aircraft making a sharp change in heading and rapidly descending before radar and radio contact were lost at about 9:21 p.m., approximately 155 nautical miles (287 kilometers, 178 miles) west of Karachi.

Aviation expert Imran Aslam told local broadcaster ARY News late Tuesday that it remained unclear what caused the aircraft to disappear from radar. He said that even if an aircraft suffered an engine failure, it would normally continue gliding rather than plunge suddenly. He said the exact cause would become clear only after investigators gathered more evidence.

In May 2020, a Pakistan International Airlines flight carrying 98 people crashed into a densely populated neighborhood near Karachi airport while attempting to land. All but one of the 99 people on board were killed. A government investigation later concluded that human error by the pilots and air traffic controllers caused the crash.

Associated Press writer Muhammad Farooq contributed to this story from Karachi, Pakistan.

Ghulam Nabi Bahrani, left, father-in-law of missing cargo plane crew First Officer Faisal Jatoi, with others pray for Jatoi at his home in Karachi, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

Ghulam Nabi Bahrani, father-in-law of missing cargo plane crew First Officer Faisal Jatoi, showed his picture on a mobile phone in Karachi, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

In this photo released by Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Navy personnel examine the wreckage of a cargo plane of the private carrier K2 Airways on a naval ship after recovering them from deep sea near Omara, a town some 360 kms. (220 miles) west of Karachi, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Pakistan Navy via AP)

In this photo released by Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Navy personnel shift the wreckage of a cargo plane of the private carrier K2 Airways into a naval ship after recovering them from deep sea near Omara, a town some 360 kms. (220 miles) west of Karachi, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Pakistan Navy via AP)

In this photo released by Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Navy personnel shift the wreckage of a cargo plane of the private carrier K2 Airways into a naval ship after recovering them from deep sea near Omara, a town some 360 kms. (220 miles) west of Karachi, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Pakistan Navy via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices are rising, and stock markets are dropping worldwide Wednesday after President Donald Trump raised doubts about the temporary truce in the war with Iran.

The S&P 500 fell 0.8% after Trump said the agreement to pause fighting was “over,” though he added that he would allow negotiations to continue. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 745 points, or 1.4%, as of 11 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.7% lower.

The action was stronger in the oil market, where the price for a barrel of Brent crude climbed 7.2% to $79.48. That’s still well below its peak from earlier in the war, when the price for the most actively traded contract reached nearly $120. But the jump is unsettling because oil prices had just dropped back to where they were before the war.

The worry is that a continuation of the war will block the Strait of Hormuz and prevent the delivery of crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide. That could worsen inflation, which economists expected would ease with oil prices, and in turn force the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates.

Higher rates can keep a lid on inflation, but they also slow the economy and hurt prices for all kinds of investments.

Losses for stock markets in Europe accelerated, and oil prices climbed immediately after Trump said, “For me, I think it’s over” about the status of the ceasefire. He added that U.S. representatives can continue negotiations, but he cast doubt on the outcome. “They can talk, but I think they’re wasting their time,” he said.

Trump later said the United States was preparing for another night of strikes against Iran.

On Wall Street, companies with big fuel bills fell sharply. American Airlines lost 5.7%, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings fell 3.1%.

Stocks of companies in the housing industry were also weak. They were hurt by worries that rising Treasury yields in the bond market will lead to higher rates for mortgages and chill the industry.

Builders FirstSource, which sells counters, windows and other building supplies, fell 6.3%. Homebuilders PulteGroup fell 4.8%, and D.R. Horton sank 4.8%.

Drops of 3.9% for Sherwin-Williams and 3.5% for Home Depot were two of the biggest reasons the Dow was heading toward its worst loss in at least a month.

Helping to offset those losses was a steadying for some influential stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry. They’ve been under pressure in recent weeks on worries that their prices shot too high and that AI may not produce enough productivity and profits to make all the investments in chips and data centers worth it.

Their swings carry a lot of weight on Wall Street because AI stocks have grown into some of the U.S. market’s biggest, giving their movements more effect on the S&P 500 than other stocks.

Nvidia rose a modest 0.8%, for example, and was the second-strongest force pushing upward on the S&P 500 because it's the largest stock on Wall Street.

The strongest push upward came from Broadcom, which rose 4.4%. Apple announced a multiyear commitment with Broadcom to design and produce custom components for its products. Apple said the agreement's value could top $30 billion.

In the bond market, Treasury yields rose with the price of oil. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.59% from 4.55% late Tuesday and from just 3.97% before the war with Iran began.

In stock markets abroad, losses for European markets worsened after Trump made his comments, and Germany’s DAX lost 2%.

In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi dropped 5.3% and continued its sharp swings amid dueling worries and euphoria about the AI stocks that dominate its market.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was an outlier and rose 3%.

Shares that trade in Hong Kong of Chinese AI startup Zhipu, known also as Z.ai and traded as Knowledge Atlas Technology, jumped 13.4%.

A six-month lock-up period for “cornerstone” investors following its January trading debut in Hong Kong expires this week. China National Radio reported late Tuesday that nearly 70% of Zhipu’s cornerstone investors are committed to stay on, despite previous worries that the lock-up period expiration could trigger a sell-off.

Zhipu’s share price has risen more than 1,300% since its debut.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott, Chan Ho-him and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

Options traders Serge Marinovich, left, and Phil Phil Fracassini work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A member of media stands near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer watches computer monitors near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Currency traders pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics Co., right, stock price at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Dealers talk near the screens showing foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A screen shows the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)