Boeing 747 was operated by Türkiye’s ACT Airlines on behalf of Emirates
Two members of security staff at Hong Kong International Airport died in the early hours of Monday, after a Boeing 747 cargo plane from Dubai skidded off the runway during landing and collided with the vehicle they were traveling in, pushing it into the sea, according to Reuters, citing an official source.
The aircraft, operated by Turkish carrier ACT Airlines on behalf of Emirates, was partially submerged, but the four crew on board escaped unharmed.
“Airport security personnel were not breathing when they were rescued from the water, with one of them confirmed dead at the scene and another later in hospital,” said Steven Yiu, executive director of airport operations at the Hong Kong Airport Authority. The two employees who died had worked at the airport for seven and 12 years.
Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department said in a statement on Monday that the plane “deviated from the north runway after landing and fell into the sea.”
Emirates said that flight EK9788 suffered damage when landing in Hong Kong and was a Boeing 747 cargo plane rented with crew and operated by ACT Airlines.
“The crew is confirmed to be safe and there was no cargo on board,” Emirates assured.
The accident occurred at around 03:50 local time (20:50 on Sunday in mainland Portugal) on the north runway of the airport, the busiest in the world for cargo traffic. The causes are still being investigated, including the weather conditions, the runway and the plane itself.
According to authorities, the security vehicle did not invade the runway, and the plane unexpectedly deviated to the left after touching the ground – a trajectory considered anomalous.
Despite the severity of the accident, airport operations were not affected. However, the northbound lane will remain closed until safety inspections are completed.
According to an Aviation Safety Network database, this is the deadliest airport accident in Hong Kong since a China Airlines flight crashed on landing in 1999, killing three of the 315 people on board.
