China Jet Slams Into Hong Kong’s Harbor; 6 Die

A Chinese airliner carrying 89 people crashed into Hong Kong’s harbor while landing in poor visibility today. Officials said six people were killed.

Eighty-three people were rescued after the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) Trident tried to land on Kai Tak International Airport’s single 11,200-foot runway, which juts into the harbor.

The official Government Information Service said the British-built plane broke in half on impact.

Flight 301 had been scheduled to land about 9 a.m. after a 35-minute flight from the southern Chinese city of Canton, 80 miles northwest of Hong Kong. The plane was carrying 78 passengers and 11 crew members.

The identities and nationalities of the people aboard were not known.

Witnesses said visibility at the runway was about 200 yards and limited by low clouds and sporadic heavy thundershowers.

“(The plane) crashed into the water after touching down,” a police spokesman said.

The exact cause of the crash was not immediately known.

“I saw the plane coming down, then there was a loud bang as it went into the sea,” said one man who was standing near the airport. “There were sparks of fire and then white smoke. Rain was very heavy. It was very dark.”

Added an employee at Kai Tak : “I can see the tail of the plane sticking out of the sea.”

Other witnesses said its tail was stuck in a grass strip at the edge of the runway.

Fireboats and other harbor craft pulled survivors from the plane and the harbor. British military helicopters hovered overhead and divers plunged into the murky water to reach the submerged front portion of the airliner.

“We do not know if the dead are passengers or crew,” a government spokesman said. Officials originally said 11 people were missing, all believed in the front of the airliner.

Officials said 13 survivors were being treated for injuries in hospitals and the remaining 70 appeared unhurt although in shock.

The visually spectacular approach to Kai Tak airport, one of Asia’s main transport hubs, normally takes airplanes on a descent between the rugged high hills hemming in the urban area.

The last major incident at Kai Tak occurred in October, 1983, when a West German Lufthansa Boeing 747 was badly damaged after its pilot aborted his take-off a short distance from the sea. The airport was closed for 24 hours.