Cargo aircraft skids off a Hong Kong runway into the sea, killing 2 airport workers

A cargo aircraft skidded off a Hong Kong runway and collided with a security patrol car before both fell into the sea, killing the two people in the car, authorities say. The plane’s four crew members are unhurt.

The Boeing 747, flown by Turkey-based ACT Airlines, was landing at Hong Kong International Airport around 3:50 a.m. on arrival from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The aircraft was being operated under lease by Emirates, a long-haul carrier based in Dubai.

The captains did not seek help before landing and had taxied about halfway down the runway before skidding off it to the left, Steven Yiu, the airport authority’s executive director in airport operations, says during a press conference.

“The patrol car absolutely did not rush onto the runway. It was the plane that went off the runway and crashed into the patrol car outside the fence,” he says.

When rescue crews arrived, the plane was broken into two parts, floating in the sea, and the four crew members were waiting to be rescued at its open door, says Yiu Men-yeung, a fire services official.

The four crew members had no apparent injuries, says Tong Sze-ho, acting senior assistant chief ambulance officer of the fire services department.

Rescuers dove into the sea and found the two security workers trapped in the car after a 40-minute search, Yiu Men-yeung says.