A cargo Boeing 747 aircraft skidded off the runway at Hong Kong International Airport early on Monday morning, plunged into the sea and tragically killed two airport ground-staff in a vehicle hit during the crash.

The aircraft, operating flight EK9788 under a wet-lease arrangement by a Turkish carrier on behalf of Dubai-based Emirates, landed from Dubai at approximately 3:50 a.m. local time before veering off the north runway, breaching the perimeter and crashing into the sea wall.

The plane was empty of cargo at the time, according to the airline.

Four crew members aboard the freighter were rescued and transported to hospital; the vehicle struck by the aircraft was carrying two long-serving airport security officers aged thirty and forty-one, one of whom died at the scene and the other later died in hospital.

According to officials, the patrol vehicle was outside the fenced runway perimeter, on a coastal patrol route, and had not entered the runway itself when the crash occurred.

Visual footage from the scene shows the aircraft in a severely damaged state, with its forward fuselage prominently above water, the tail section detached and an escape slide deployed.

Investigators are now attempting to locate the aircraft’s black-box recorders and are examining the circumstances of the runway excursion.

The airport operator confirmed that the north runway has been closed indefinitely for safety inspection and investigation, while the south and centre runways remain operational so that flight schedules will continue with minimal interruption.

Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department and the independent Air Accident Investigation Authority are coordinating the inquiry, supported by the airline and lessor.

The incident is a rare fatal accident at the airport since its opening in nineteen ninety-eight.

Emergency response to the incident involved over two hundred fire-service and rescue personnel and multiple vessels along the sea wall.

The aircraft, registered TC-ACF and reported to be thirty-two years old, had previously served as a passenger aircraft before conversion to freighter configuration.

The airport authority stressed that runway conditions were deemed normal at the time of landing.

In a brief statement, Emirates confirmed the freighter was wet-leased and operating under cargo designation EK9788, reiterated that the crew are confirmed safe, and said there was no cargo onboard.

The investigation remains ongoing, with particular attention being paid to the factors that led to the runway overrun and the subsequent collision with a ground-service vehicle.