A devastating incident unfolded at Hong Kong International Airport early Monday morning when an Emirates cargo plane veered off the runway, collided with a patrol vehicle, and plunged into the sea. Tragically, two ground crew members inside the vehicle lost their lives, according to local officials.
The aircraft, identified as Flight UAE9788, a Boeing 747-400 cargo plane arriving from Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai, skidded from the north runway at approximately 3:50 a.m. and entered the water. The exact cause of this catastrophic accident remains unknown and is under active investigation by Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department.
The impact forced the patrol car, with its occupants, into the churning sea. Rescuers bravely worked to extract the ground crew members, but they were discovered submerged within the vehicle, as reported by Steven Yiu, the executive director of airport operations, during a subsequent news briefing.
The victims were identified as a 41-year-old man with seven years of service at the airport and a 30-year-old man who had been employed there for 12 years, Mr. Yiu confirmed.
Fortunately, all four crew members aboard the aircraft were successfully rescued and transported to a local hospital for medical attention.
Following the incident, the airport’s north runway was immediately closed, leading to the diversion of flights to its two other operational runways. Images from the scene depict the cargo plane partially submerged, highlighting the severity of the accident.
Authorities have confirmed that no distress signals were transmitted from the aircraft prior to its landing. Furthermore, preliminary reports suggest the plane had traversed nearly halfway across the runway before it suddenly veered off course and struck the ground vehicle, Mr. Liu stated.
He emphasized, “The patrol car definitely did not overrun the runway; it was the aircraft that overran the runway and struck the patrol car.”
Emirates released a statement clarifying that the Boeing 747-400 was leased from and operated by Act Airlines, a Turkish operator, and was not carrying any cargo at the time of the accident.
This incident follows a similar, though less severe, event in September, when a Hong Kong Express Airbus A320-232 passenger jet also veered off the same runway onto a grassy area during a typhoon. No injuries were reported in that earlier event, which also remains under investigation.