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Two people have died after a cargo plane skidded off the runway at Hong Kong International Airport and crashed into a security patrol vehicle, which resulted in both plunged into the sea on Monday (October 20), ABC News reports.
The two casualties were reported to be in the security patrol vehicle at the time of the crash while the four crew members onboard the Boeing 747 plane were uninjured. The aircraft, which was flown by the Turkish ACT Airlines and operated under lease by the Dubai-based long-haul carrier Emirates, was traveling from Dubai when it landed in Hong Kong at 3:50 a.m. local time.
The pilots reportedly didn't seek help before landing and taxiing about halfway down the runway, at which point the aircraft began skidding off to the left, according to Steven Yiu, the executive director in airport operations at Hong Kong International Airport.
“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,” Yiu said during a news conference via ABC News.
The plane was broken into two parts and floated in the sea when rescue crews arrived at the scene, at which point the four crew members were waiting to be rescued at the plane's open door, according to Yiu Men-Yeung, a fire services official, via ABC News. The two security workers were found trapped in the car after a 40-minute search by first responders, Yiu Men-Yeung confirmed.