Cargo aircraft skids off Hong Kong airport runway into sea, 2 dead

A cargo aircraft skidded off a Hong Kong runway into the sea when landing early Monday killing two peopleThe Boeing 747 flown by Turkeybased ACT Airlines was landing at Hong Kong International Airport around 350 am on arrival from Dubai United Arab Emirates authorities said The airline had leased the aircraft from Emirates a longhaul carrier based in DubaiFour crew members on the plane were rescued and taken to a hospital Initial reports from police said two people in an airport ground vehicle were killedEmirates said the Boeing 747 freighter flying as EK9788 was wet leased and operated by ACT Airlines In wet leases the company supplying the plane also provides the crew maintenance and insurance Emirates said there was no cargo on boardLocal Hong Kong broadcasters showed the aircraft partially submerged just off the edge of the airports sea wall The aircrafts front half and cockpit were visible above water but the tail end appearing to have broken offThe crash occurred on the north runway of Hong Kongs airport one of Asias busiest That runway remained closed while the two other runways at the airport continue to operateHong Kongs Civil Aviation Department said in a statement it was following up with the airlines and other parties involved in the crashEmirates the Dubaibased long haul carrier is known for its passenger flights coming out of Dubai International Airport the worlds busiest for international travelHowever it also operates a thriving cargo business out of Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central the sheikhdoms second airport where it plans a USD 35 billion improvement over the coming decade The ACT Airlines flight had taken off from Al Maktoum known as DWCEmirates owned by a sovereign wealth fund in the citystate noted in its mostrecent annual report that it had added two wetleased Boeing 747s to serve surging customer demand Emirates has some 260 aircraft in its fleet the majority either Boeing 777s or doubledecker Airbus A380sThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever