Two Hong Kong airport security staff were killed early on Monday after a cargo plane from Dubai skidded off the runway on landing, collided with their security patrol vehicle and pushed it into the sea, the city’s airport operator said.
The airport security staff were not breathing when rescued from the water, with one confirmed dead at the scene and another later at hospital, said Steven Yiu, executive director of airport operations at Airport Authority Hong Kong.
The accident occurred around 3:50 a.m. Hong Kong time on Monday (1950 GMT on Sunday).
Flights at Hong Kong’s airport have not been affected, Yiu said, adding that the northern runway at the world’s busiest cargo airport, where the incident occurred, would reopen after safety inspections were complete.
Emirates said flight EK9788 sustained damage on landing in Hong Kong on Monday and was a Boeing 747 cargo aircraft wet-leased from and operated by ACT Airlines.
A cargo plane from Dubai skidded off the runway during landing, collided with their security patrol vehicle, and pushed it into the sea, killing two Hong Kong airport security personnel early Monday, according to the city’s airport operator.
The four crew members on board the Boeing 747 that was involved in the deadliest airport incident to occur in the financial center in over 25 years managed to escape despite falling into the water and becoming partially submerged.
According to Airport Authority Hong Kong executive director of airport operations Steven Yiu, one of the airport security personnel was confirmed dead at the scene and another later at the hospital after they were pulled from the water without breathing.
According to a statement from the Dubai-based airline, Emirates, a Turkish freight carrier, was operating the aircraft involved in the accident at the busiest cargo airport in the world.
According to Yiu, authorities are still looking into the precise cause of the crash, including the weather, runway conditions, the aircraft, and the aircrew.
Around 3:50 in the morning, the accident happened. M. Monday was Hong Kong time, and Sunday was 1950 GMT.
The pilot of the cargo plane confirmed plans to land on runway 07L, where the crash occurred, according to an air traffic control recording that Reuters examined on LiveATC . net. However, he did not report any technical difficulties on the recording.
A female controller said, “An incident happened at the airfield just now,” a few minutes later.
Yiu stated that flights at the airport in Hong Kong have not been impacted and that the incident happened on the northern runway of the busiest cargo airport in the world. The runway would reopen following the completion of safety inspections.
According to the authority, both the south and central runways are functioning normally.
A cargo plane with AirACT livery was partially submerged in water close to the airport’s sea wall, with an escape slide in place and the nose and tail sections separated, according to photos taken after the accident.
According to a statement released by Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department on Monday, the plane “deviated from the north runway after landing and ditched into the sea.”. “.
Wet-leased from and operated by ACT Airlines, Emirates reported that flight EK9788, a Boeing 747 cargo plane, suffered damage upon landing in Hong Kong on Monday.
Emirates stated that there was no cargo on board and that the crew was safe.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by Boeing.
Turkish airline ACT Airlines supplies major airlines with additional cargo capacity. Later, in a statement, it stated that the cause of the plane’s veer off the runway was still unknown and that the appropriate authorities were conducting an investigation.
“It has been confirmed that all four of the crew members are doing well. It stated, “Unfortunately, we have been informed that the aircraft collided with a ground services vehicle, resulting in the loss of two lives,” and that the airline was closely coordinating with officials and fully cooperating with the investigation.
The plane involved in the accident was 32 years old and had been a passenger plane before being converted to a freighter, according to flight tracking service FlightRadar24.
Yiu added that both of the deceased employees had worked at the airport for seven and twelve years, respectively, and that the airport authority would offer the family all the help and support they will need.
According to an Aviation Safety Network database, it was the deadliest airport accident in Hong Kong since a 1999 China Airlines flight killed three of the 315 people on board when it crashed on landing.
