A cargo plane veered off the runway during landing at Hong Kong International Airport early Monday, striking a security patrol vehicle and skidding into the sea, killing two men in the vehicle, authorities reported.
The Boeing aircraft, arriving from Dubai, left the tarmac at around 4 a.m. local time (2000 GMT Sunday), crashing through a perimeter fence and partially submerging in seawater.
The incident, one of the most serious since the airport opened in 1998, left the plane’s fuselage damaged and its emergency evacuation slide deployed.
Steven Yiu, executive director of airport operations at Airport Authority Hong Kong, clarified that the patrol vehicle was not on the runway at the time.
“The aircraft veered off the runway, hit the patrol car outside the fence, and pushed it into the water,” Yiu said.
A 30-year-old man in the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene, while a 41-year-old man succumbed to injuries after being rushed to a hospital. Divers recovered both men from the sunken vehicle, located about five meters from the shore.
Emirates, the airline operating the flight, confirmed the plane’s crew was unharmed and that the aircraft, on a short-term lease from Act
Airlines, carried no cargo. Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the crash at one of the world’s busiest air cargo hubs.
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