Hong Kong - The typhoon that raged past Hong Kong last week was so powerful it spun a stationary jumbo jet around, officials at the city's international airport said Sunday.

The Boeing Classic 747-200 cargo plane was rotated a full 90 degrees by the wind during the height of Typhoon Hagupit's Hong Kong landfall early last Wednesday.

The Ocean Airlines jet, now the property of a financier, has been left on a parking bay near the control tower of Hong Kong's airport since July 2007, shortly before the Italy-based airline went under.

Since then, three of the plane's four engines have been removed along with some of its fixtures and fittings, making it significantly lighter.

It survived several storms unscathed but the 170 kilometres per hour winds that came with Typhoon Hagupit proved too much and tore it out of the chocks holding it in place.

The spokeswoman said the Boeing had been spun around at 1.50 am last Wednesday morning "because of strong gusts of wind brought about by (Typhoon) Hagupit."

"The Airport Authority immediately sought assistance from a line maintenance operator to secure the aircraft and replace the broken chocks," she said. dpa