Libya: Hijackers gave up ‘peacefully’; ‘nobody injured’

The two young Libyan who hijacked a passenger plane surrendered peacefully without making any conditions after the Maltese government insisted that all passengers had to be released, Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said at a press conference. 

The plane was hijacked while flying from the oasis city of Sebha to the capital, Trip, a trip which usually takes just over two hours. 

It was diverted to Malta, some 500 km (300 miles) north of the Libyan coast.

‘All’s well that ends well’ – Malta president

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has told a press conference that the two hijackers were “probably of Libyan nationality”.

The Maltese prime minister said the passengers would be sent back to Libya.

He said that they were told that no negotiations would be entertained until all passengers had been released. 

He added: “They were asked to surrender any weapons in their possession. They were found to be in possession of a hand grenade and a pistol. 

“Nevertheless the armed forces of Malta are currently conducting a full search of the aircraft and a second pistol has been found so far. 

“The search is ongoing.”

The two hijackers have been detained in custody and interrogations are ongoing.

The rest of the crew and passengers are also being questioned to ascertain events.”

The passengers and crew would be flown back to Libya on another Afriqiyah aircraft after questioning was finished, he added.

‘NOBODY INJURED’ DURING HIJACKING

Malta’s government has confirmed that the hijackers did not harm any of the 118 passengers or crew of the Airbus A320 which was seized earlier today after taking off from the Libyan oasis city of Sebha:

HIJACKER ‘BORN IN LIBYA IN 1989’

An independent journalist has tweeted details of one of the young Libyan men who hijacked a passenger plane after take-off in the oasis city of Sebha (spelt Sabha below) and diverted it to Malta:  

All the 118 passengers and crew were freed, apparently unharmed, ending a stand-off of almost four hours. 

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat will address the media later, according to his communications chief.

© Copyright 2016 BBC; send eyewitness accounts/reports/articles to publisher@elombah.com; follow us on twitter handle @Elombah; like our Facebook page: “Elombah.com”

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook