HONG KONG — HONG KONG (AP) — A cargo aircraft skidded off a Hong Kong runway and collided with a security patrol vehicle before both fell into the sea early Monday, killing the two people in the car, authorities said. The plane’s four crew members were unhurt.
The Boeing 747, flown by Turkey-based ACT Airlines, was landing at Hong Kong International Airport around 3: 50 a.m. from Dubai. The aircraft was being operated under lease by Emirates, a long-haul carrier based in Dubai.
The pilots did not seek help before landing and had taxied about halfway down the runway before skidding off to the left, Steven Yiu, the airport authority’s executive director in airport operations, told a news 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 said.
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, said Yiu Men-yeung, a fire services official.
Rescuers dove into the sea and found the two security workers trapped in the car after a 40-minute search, Yiu Men-yeung said.
TV images showed the aircraft partially submerged just off the edge of the airport’s sea wall. Its front half and cockpit were visible above water but the tail end appearing to have broken off. Two boats, possibly with search and rescue personnel, were near the aircraft.
The crash occurred on the north runway of Hong Kong’s airport,