Hong Kong: A cargo aircraft operating for Emirates Airlines skidded off a runway into the sea while landing at Hong Kong International Airport on Monday, killing two airport security staff on the ground.

The accident happened about 3.50am Hong Kong time (6.50am AEDT) during challenging weather conditions. The four crew members of the Boeing 747 aircraft, which had taken off in Dubai, were rescued and taken to hospital, according to an Airport Authority Hong Kong statement.

Airport operations executive director Steven Yiu said the plane was landing on Hong Kong’s northern runway when it veered off and “crashed through the fencing”.

“Unfortunately, an airport security patrol car was there at that time,” he told a press conference. “The aircraft collided with the patrol car and pushed the car into the sea.”

The patrol vehicle was outside the airport perimeter fence when it was hit, Yiu said.

Images showed the partially submerged aircraft with its rear section of fuselage, including the tail fin, missing.

The aircraft sent no distress signal, and weather and runway conditions were deemed safe, Yiu said.

The northern runway at the airport – one of the busiest in Asia – was temporarily closed pending a safety inspection, Yiu said. The other two runways were operating normally.

An official from the Hong Kong Air Accident Investigation Authority said it was searching for the plane’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders – known as black boxes – in the sea.

The 32-year-old aircraft was flown by Turkish freight carrier AirACT on behalf of Emirates from Dubai Al Maktoum International Airport, with the flight code EK9788.

Emirates said in a statement that the crew were confirmed to be safe, and there was no cargo onboard.

ACT Airlines is a Turkish carrier that provides extra cargo capacity to major airlines. It did not respond immediately to a request for comment outside normal business hours.

The Boeing 747-400 was delivered new as a passenger airliner to Japan’s All Nippon Airways in June 1993 before being sold and converted for cargo use in 2011, according to Jetphotos.com.

The accident would mark one of the most serious in the Hong Kong International Airport’s 27-year history. In 1999, three people died when a China Airlines flight crashed while landing during a typhoon and flipped upside down.

Monday’s accident echoes another China Airlines accident at the city’s old Kai Tak Airport when a 747 overran the runway during typhoon conditions. The jet was submerged in water beyond the end of the runway. About two dozen passengers and crew were injured.

Bloomberg, Reuters

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.