EgyptAir hijack takes a 'love' twist, 'unstable' suspect wanted to meet ex wife
29 March 2016 3:12 PM IST
Identified as Ibrahim Samaha, the man has released most passengers but is still holding cabin crew and 4 'foreigners'.
A hijacker, identified as Ibrahim Samaha, seized an Egyptian airliner and diverted it to Cyprus, triggering a hostage crisis at Larnaca airport on the south coast.- The plane was parked on the tarmac away from the new terminal building but just 200 metres (yards) from a beach where dozens of foreign tourists were out.
- The Larnaca airport has been closed after the hijack. Flights to Larnaca in the south were diverted to the Paphos airport in the west.
- Egyptian civil aviation said the hijacker had threatened to detonate an explosives belt which he claimed he had on board the Egypt Air plane.
- The hijacked EgyptAir plane carried 21 foreigners including 8 Americans, according to the aviation ministry.
- The hijacker demanded that asylum be granted to him in Cyprus and also that he be allowed to see his estranged Cypriot wife.
- Anastasiades said the Cyprus government had done everything it could to ensure the safe release of the passengers, most of whom were reported to have been set free.
- The hijacking of an EgyptAir plane to Cyprus is not related to terrorism, the island's President Nicos Anastasiades said.
- Negotiations with hijacker resulted in the release of all the passengers except four cabin crew and three 'foreigners', according to the latest press release by EgyptAir.
- A crisis team was deployed to the airport, the main entry point for tourists to the Mediterranean resort island.
A hijacker, identified as Ibrahim Samaha, seized an Egyptian airliner and diverted it to Cyprus, triggering a hostage crisis at Larnaca airport on the south coast.
Identified as Ibrahim Samaha, the man has released most passengers but is still holding cabin crew and 4 'foreigners'.
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