‍DALLAS — Two people died yesterday as a cargo aircraft skidded off a Hong Kong runway and collided with their security patrol car before both the vehicle and the plane fell into the sea.

According to news reports, the plane's four crew members were unhurt. The incident is the airport’s deadliest since 1999 when China Airlines (CI) Flight 642 crashed, killing three of the 315 people on board. 

The jet, a Boeing 747, flown by Turkey-based Air ACT (9T) and operating under wet lease by Emirates (EK), was landing at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) around 3:50 am Monday, arriving from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (DBX).

Steven Yiu, the airport authority’s executive director in airport operations, said that the pilots did not issue any distress call before landing and had taxied about halfway down the runway before skidding off it to the left.

Man Ka-chai, chief accident and safety investigator for Hong Kong's Air Accident Investigation Authority, confirmed air traffic control had directed the flight to land at the north runway, but added, "We didn't receive any message requesting help from the pilot."

“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,” he said.

According to Yiu Men-yeung, a fire services official, by the time rescue crews had arrived, the aircraft had broken into two parts and was floating in the sea.

Airport officials noted that rescuers dove into the sea and found the two security workers trapped in the car after a 40-minute search. The victims were not breathing when rescued from the water, with one confirmed dead at the scene and another later at the hospital, said Steven Yiu.

The four aircraft crew members were waiting to be rescued at the open door. The crew had no apparent injuries.

An official from the Hong Kong Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) said it was still trying to locate the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder in the sea.

"Normally, the plane is not supposed to turn towards the sea," he said at a news conference hours after the incident.

Images shown on local television displayed the aircraft partially submerged just off the edge of the airport’s sea wall. The aircraft’s front half and cockpit were visible above water, but the tail end appeared to have broken off.

Although the airport’s north runway, 25R/07L, on which the crash occurred, was closed, the two other runways at the airport continue to operate.

The airport said flights at the facility would be unaffected and that the northern runway would reopen after a safety inspection was completed.

At the time of the incident, the weather was good. The Associated Press says that the Air Accident Investigation Authority has classified the case as an accident, and the investigation will look into multiple factors, including the flight’s system, operation, and maintenance.

According to EK, the 32-year-old Boeing 747 freighter flying as EK9788 was wet leased and operated by ACT Airlines. No cargo was on board.

Hong Kong International Airport sits on reclaimed land at the mouth of the Pearl River. The edge of the north runway lies only a few hundred meters from the water, while the other two runways are even closer.