Egyptian Airliner Hijacked
With possibly 81 passengers aboard, an Egypt airliner has been hijacked. The flight, an Airbus 320-A, left Alexandria and has now landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, and there is reportedly one armed hijacker on board. An EgyptAir spokeswoman has reported that the hijacker has asked for the flight to land in Cyprus. There are reports of a bomb on board.
Initial reports stated that there were over 80 people on board, but more recent statements are claiming 50 passengers on board with five crew members.
Our flight MS181 is officially hijacked. we’ll publish an official statement now. #Egyptair
— EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) March 29, 2016
More news to follow.
Update: According to Fox News, women and children on the plane are being allowed to disembark. The pilot reports the hijacker is wearing suicide belt. The hijacker is demanding that police vehicles back away from the aircraft. A crisis team, as well as numerous ambulances, have been dispatched to the location. A Cypriot official has now stated that it “seems like there is more than one hijacker” involved. The airport at Larnaca has been closed, with scheduled flights to be diverted elsewhere.
At least 10 Americans were reported to be on board. According to CNN, only four foreigners and the crew remain on board. The Aviation Ministry states that a passenger claims to be armed with explosives. It is not yet clear if this is the aforementioned hijacker or if he is working with someone else. The motive is still unknown.
Viewers of Fox TV News and CNN News were able to watch as women and children and then, later, some adult male passengers exited the plane. They carried with them their carry-on luggage, which suggests the hijacker allowed them to have time to recover their items to take with them. At this time, there still appears to be four foreign passengers remaining on the aircraft, but these numbers haven’t been confirmed.
The man has now been confirmed to be the only hijacker on board. He’s written a letter to his ex-wife, who lives in Cyprus, and asked that it be delivered to her. Any other demands have not yet been confirmed.
Update: Information has come forth that the hijacker is a 27-year-old man who is a professor of veterinary medicine. His name has been released as Seifedeen Mustafa. Additionally, we’ve learned that the hijacker originally demanded the flight be diverted to Istanbul, however, the pilot assured him there wasn’t enough fuel to make it that far and that they’d have to land at an airport much closer. It is unknown if he reached his decision to choose Cyprus as his preferred closer destination due to it being the home of his ex-wife.
The hijacker appeared to the passengers to be very distraught, leaving authorities to wonder what to expect of any demands be might yet make.
According to CNN, the Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the hijacker was been taken into custody at 7:48 a.m. American Eastern time. With the suspected hijacker in custody, passengers and families are waiting for confirmation that with him in custody, the passengers and crew are safely accounted for.
[Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images]
