Written By Faith Mwende
Two airport security staff have died after an Emirates cargo plane skidded off a runway at Hong Kong International Airport and crashed into their patrol vehicle, pushing it into the sea.
The Boeing 747-481, operating as Emirates flight EK9788 and leased from Turkish carrier ACT Airlines, was arriving from Dubai around 03:50 local time (19:50 GMT) when it veered off the north runway. The aircraft breached the perimeter fence and collided with a patrol car travelling outside the runway area. The vehicle was found submerged five metres from shore and seven metres underwater.
The two men inside the vehicle, aged 30 and 41, both with years of experience in airport security, were recovered by divers but later pronounced dead. Officials confirmed the patrol car had not entered the runway and was operating at a safe distance. No distress signal was sent by the aircraft before the crash.
All four crew members aboard the cargo plane survived, escaping through emergency exits and rescued by emergency teams who arrived within minutes. Photos show the aircraft partially submerged and split in two.
No cargo was onboard at the time, and Emirates has confirmed the aircraft sustained damage during landing.
The cause of the crash is under investigation by the Hong Kong Air Accident Investigation Authority. Weather conditions, the aircraft’s condition, and pilot actions will all be examined. The flight data and cockpit voice recorders have yet to be recovered from the sea.
Hong Kong’s Transport Bureau expressed condolences to the victims’ families, calling it one of the deadliest aviation incidents at the airport in decades. The affected runway will remain closed while the airport continues operations using its two other runways. Eleven cargo flights have been cancelled so far.
This marks only the second fatal aviation incident at Chek Lap Kok since it opened in 1998. The previous was in 1999, when a China Airlines flight crashed during a typhoon, killing three.
