A Boeing 747 cargo plane, operated by ACT Airlines for Emirates, skidded off Hong Kong International Airport’s north runway at 3:50 a.m., colliding with a security patrol vehicle and plunging into the sea.
The crash, the deadliest at the airport in over 25 years, killed two security staff members. According to Steven Yiu, Executive Director of Airport Operations at the Airport Authority Hong Kong, both security staff were pulled from the water unconscious. One was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other succumbed to injuries later in the hospital.
Yiu confirmed that the patrol vehicle was operating in its designated area outside the runway fence and had not entered the runway. “The car was performing routine patrol duties. It definitely did not rush onto the runway,” he stated.
A cargo plane from Dubai skidded off the runway into the sea while landing at Hong Kong International Airport, with local media reporting two deaths https://t.co/P296eVcQ98 pic.twitter.com/ToQ8WArF9q
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 20, 2025The plane, flight EK9788, veered left after landing, striking the patrol vehicle outside the runway fence, Yiu said. The vehicle was not on the runway. Air traffic control recordings showed no pilot distress calls. Hong Kong’s Air Accident Investigation Authority, led by Man Ka-chai, is probing weather, runway conditions, and aircraft factors. The north runway remains closed for inspections, but south and central runways operate normally.
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The 32-year-old aircraft, previously a passenger plane, had no cargo onboard, Emirates stated. The crash follows a 1999 China Airlines incident that killed three. The Airport Authority is supporting the victims’ families, who lost staff with 7 and 12 years of service.
The accident raises safety concerns at the world’s busiest cargo airport, prompting urgent investigations.
