In a statement on Wednesday, K2 Airways identified the five crew members on board the aircraft, and said it was “fully cooperating with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies”.

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

According to preliminary data from Flightradar24, a flight-tracking platform, the plane recorded a sharp fluctuation in altitude before a steep descent.

Various agencies, including the navy and air force, have been deployed to look for the missing plane, the airport authority said.

The last major aviation incident in Pakistan involved a domestic passenger flight in 2020. In that incident, a Pakistan International Airlines plane crashed while approaching Karachi airport, killing all but two of the 99 people on board.

Additional reporting by Usman Zahid in Islamabad