Hijacked Libyan plane lands in Malta with 118 on board: media

[Eugene]

Last edited Fri Dec 23, 2016, 11:06 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: Reuters

WORLD NEWS Fri Dec 23, 2016 6:27am EST

An airliner on an internal flight in Libya was hijacked and diverted to Malta where it landed on Friday, Maltese media reported.

Two hijackers had threatened to blow up the Airbus A320, which had 118 people aboard, outlets including the Times of Malta said. The aircraft had been flying from Sebha in southwest Libya to Tripoli for state-owned Afriqiyah Airways.

The tiny Mediterranean island of Malta is about 500 km (300 miles) north of the Libyan coast.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat tweeted: "Informed of potential hijack situation of a #Libya internal flight diverted to #Malta. Security and emergency operations standing by -JM".

(Reporting by Chris Scicluna; Editing by Andrew Roche)


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-airplane-idUSKBN14C12E

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Short article. No more at link.

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UPDATE: Malta hijackers surrender after releasing Libyan airliner passengers (CNN)

[BumRushDaShow]

1. CNN had a breaking banner on this

and also a short article (but with some video) - http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/23/europe/malta-libya-plane-hijack/

[shenmue]

2. Uh-oh

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. women and children released; more than 80 remain on board

Last edited Fri Dec 23, 2016, 09:48 AM - Edit history (1)

Hijackers who flew a Libyan plane to Malta have agreed to release all the women and children on board, and negotiations are underway over the fate of more than 80 people still trapped on board, the country’s prime minister said.

There were 118 people on board the Airbus A320 operated by the state-owned airline Afriqiyah Airways and travelling on an internal route between the cities of Sabha and Tripoli.

The two hijackers claimed to be in possession of a hand grenade, the Times of Malta reported, but it was not clear what their demands were.

Negotiations were underway by early afternoon, and the first releases were announced soon after Muscat spoke to his Libyan counterpart Faez al Serraj.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/23/libyan-afriqiyah-airways-passenger-plane-hijacked-diverted-to-malta

Update (same link):

Hijackers who flew a Libyan plane to Malta have released 65 passengers, including most of the women and children on board, and are in negotiations about the fate of 63 other people still being held, the country’s prime minister said.

The Airbus A320, operated by the state-owned airline Afriqiyah Airways, was hijacked on an internal route between the cities of Sabha and Tripoli. There were 111 passengers and 7 crew on board, with one Libyan law maker named as Abdel-Salam al-Marabet reported on the passenger list..

65+63 is 128, not 118, though, so all figures are unconfirmed.

[randome]

4. "Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat tweeted..." Know what Trump would have said?

"See? I was right!"
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[Eugene]

5. CNN: Malta hijackers surrender after releasing Libyan airliner passengers

Source: CNN

Malta hijackers surrender after releasing Libyan airliner passengers

By Angela Dewan, Ian Lee and Eugenie Lambert, CNN
Updated 1457 GMT (2257 HKT) December 23, 2016

(CNN) - Two hijackers who diverted a Libyan plane to Malta and threatened to blow up the aircraft have surrendered themselves to authorities after releasing everyone on board and leaving the plane.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the hijackers had been taken in custody, bringing the dramatic incident to an end.

The Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 was carrying 111 passengers, Muscat said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/23/europe/malta-libya-plane-hijack/index.html?adkey=bn