Authorities closed the Hong Kong International Airport's north runway on Thursday as they began the salvage operation for the wreckage of the cargo plane that skidded into the sea on Monday morning.

The Airport Authority Hong Kong said in a statement that the north runway was temporarily closed starting at 8 am as two salvage vessels were set to arrive with specialist equipment and crew to lift and remove the partly submerged Emirates cargo plane.

The AAHK said the operation to salvage the wreckage of the Boeing 747 aircraft was expected to last for a few days.   

With the support of the Guangzhou Salvage Bureau, Chu Kong Passenger Transport Company Ltd was commissioned to deploy salvage vessels Nan Tian Xiang and Nan Tian Peng, which have a maximum lifting capacity of 350 and 500 tonnes, respectively, and a crew of 80 professionals, including divers, machinists, boatmen and engineers.

ALSO READ: 2 killed as cargo plane skids off runway at Hong Kong airport

The Nan Tian Xiang arrived at 9 am and approached the wreckage around noon, local media reported.  

The cargo plane, operated by Turkiye’s AirACT on behalf of Emirates, skidded off the airport's north runway after landing at 3:53 am on Monday.

It struck a vehicle with two airport security staff members who were patrolling a perimeter road outside the runway zone. Both the cargo plane and the patrol car plunged into the sea.

Fire services rescued the four cargo plane crew members to safety but the two security staff members died in the incident.