Deep-sea hunt for K2 crash wreckage to begin next month

KARACHI:

An international deep-sea search team is expected to arrive in Pakistan by mid to late August to locate the wreckage and crew of the K2 Airways cargo aircraft that crashed into the sea off Ormara, Balochistan, earlier this month.

The aircraft went down on the night of July 7, and initial assessments suggest that the debris is lying at a depth of nearly 3,000 metres, making recovery efforts highly challenging. Sources said advanced equipment, including diving bells, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), airbags and specialised deep-sea divers, would be deployed for the salvage operation.

The operation is expected to cost around $10 million, with efforts focused on recovering the crew, engine, fuselage and the aircraft's black box.

Officials said hopes of detecting signals from the black box's locator transmitter are fading with each passing day, as the device's battery typically remains functional for about a month. More than three weeks after the crash, no signal has been detected.

Sources added that the aircraft manufacturer and the insurance company are also engaged in efforts to locate the wreckage and determine the cause of the crash. The aircraft, registered in Ireland, had been acquired on a dry lease by a Pakistani stakeholder, Raja Tariq, along with other shareholders. Under such an arrangement, only the aircraft is leased without crew. Due to its Irish registration, the insurance payout will be made to the registered owner.