Washington [US], October 20: An Emirates Airlines Boeing 747 skidded off the north runway of Hong Kong International Airport after apparently colliding with a ground vehicle.
Two people were killed after a Boeing 747 cargo plane skidded off the north runway of Hong Kong International Airport early on October 20, apparently hitting a ground vehicle and plunging into the sea, the South China Morning Post reported.
According to police, at around 3:50 a.m., Emirates flight EK9788 from Dubai skidded off the runway while landing.
The Boeing 747 cargo plane failed to stop in time and part of its fuselage crashed into the sea near the airport's north runway. Preliminary information said the plane also threw ground vehicles into the sea.
Two men in the car were initially reported missing. One, a 30-year-old man, was pulled from the sea and pronounced dead at the scene at 5:55 a.m. The other, a 41-year-old man, was taken to North Lantau Hospital and pronounced dead at 6:26 a.m.
All four crew members escaped uninjured.
The airport's north runway was temporarily closed due to the incident. At least 12 cargo flights were canceled on October 20, according to the airport authority's website.
Among them are Challenge Airlines flight 5C852 from Israel scheduled to land at 7 a.m., Atlas Air flight 5Y8902 from the US, and Airbridge Cargo Airline flight RU8409 from Qatar.
Passenger flights appeared to be unaffected by the incident.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Hong Kong said it was extremely concerned about the incident and was working with relevant parties, including Emirates. It had also reported the incident to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch in accordance with established procedures and was working to investigate the cause of the incident.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
