2 airport officials killed as cargo plane skids off Hong Kong runway into sea

Two security staff were killed at Hong Kong International Airport on Monday morning after a cargo plane from Dubai skidded off the runway on landing in China.

The city’s airport operator said the plane collided with security patrol vehicle and pushed it into the sea.

The accident occurred at about 3:50 a.m. Hong Kong time on Monday (1950 GMT on Sunday).

The Boeing 747 involved in the deadliest airport incident in the financial hub in more than 25 years also fell into the water and was partially submerged, but all four crew members on board escaped.

The executive director of airport operations at Airport Authority Hong Kong, Steven Yiu, disclosed that the airport security staff were not breathing when rescued from the water, with one confirmed dead at the scene and another later at hospital.

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The accident at the world’s busiest cargo airport involved a plane operated by Turkish freight carrier ACT Airlines on behalf of Emirates, the Dubai-based airline said in a statement.

Yiu added that authorities are still investigating the exact cause of the crash, with weather, runway conditions, the aircraft, and aircrew part of the investigation.

Yiu told Reuters the airport authority would provide all necessary assistance and support to the family, adding the two staff who died had worked at the airport for seven and 12 years respectively.

It was 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, according to an Aviation Safety Network database.

The Star