A cargo plane with the Emirates Airlines flight number crashed into the sea at Hong Kong International Airport in the early hours of Monday, resulting in the deaths of two ground staff members while all four crew members on board survived unharmed. The incident occurred around 3:50 am local time, under adverse weather conditions. The aircraft, arriving from Dubai, slid off the runway upon landing on the northern runway of the airport, plunging into the waters near the shoreline and colliding with a ground service vehicle.
Reports from Hong Kong officials confirmed that two male staff members aboard the vehicle initially went missing, and later one man in his 30s was confirmed dead, while another 41-year-old man succumbed to injuries after being sent to the hospital for treatment. The four crew members of the aircraft were all rescued safely with no injuries reported.
Photos circulated on Hong Kong social platform LIHKG showed a portion of the cargo plane tilted into the sea, with only the tail and upper fuselage visible above the waterline. Netizens claimed that the aircraft veered off the runway in the middle section of the third runway, collided with the ground service vehicle, and slid into the sea.
Flight tracking website Flightradar24 posted on the social platform X that the involved aircraft was a Boeing 747 cargo plane owned by the Turkish cargo airline, AirACT, which provides charter cargo services for multiple airlines including Emirates Airlines. AirACT has not yet issued a statement regarding the incident.
The Emirates Airlines flight number was EK9788, indicating its operation as a cargo route on behalf of Emirates. The Hong Kong Airport Authority confirmed the temporary closure of the northern runway, while the southern and central runways remained operational.
The Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department has dispatched personnel to initiate an investigation, indicating that adverse weather conditions and poor visibility during landing may have been contributing factors to the accident.
(Reference: Reuters)