Two airport security workers were killed when a Boeing 747 cargo jet skidded off the north runway at Hong Kong International Airport before dawn on Monday, broke through perimeter fencing and plunged into the sea. 

The four crew members on Emirates flight EK9788, operated on a wet lease by Turkey-based ACT Airlines, survived and were rescued, officials said. 

The freighter, inbound from Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport, touched down at about 03:50 local time (19:50 GMT) and subsequently veered off course, striking an airport patrol vehicle outside the runway fence and pushing it into the water, authorities said. 

No distress signal was sent before the incident, and weather conditions were suitable for landing. 

Airport operations executive director Steven Yiu said the patrol car had been traveling on a service road at a safe distance from the runway and “did not run out onto the runway.” Images from the scene showed the aircraft broken in two, with emergency slides deployed and part of the fuselage submerged. 

Divers recovered the bodies of the two security staff from the sea. The Civil Aviation Department and the Air Accident Investigation Authority opened an inquiry and began efforts to retrieve the flight data and cockpit voice recorders. Police said criminal investigations would not be ruled out. 

One runway remained closed for the day, while the airport’s other two runways stayed in operation. Several cargo arrivals were canceled, according to airport notices. Emirates said the aircraft “sustained damage on landing” and that no cargo was onboard. Boeing did not immediately comment. 

Monday’s crash is among Hong Kong’s most serious aviation accidents in years. The last fatal incident at Chek Lap Kok was in August 1999, when a China Airlines passenger flight crash-landed during a typhoon, killing three. 

Source: BBC

SMS/