Turkish plane hijacked between Cyprus-Istanbul
al-Qaida hijacks a Turkish passenger plane heading from northern Cyprus to Istanbul.
By Agencies |
ISTANBUL: Hijackers claiming to have bombs and to be members of al-Qaida on Saturday hijacked a Turkish passenger plane heading from northern Cyprus to Istanbul.
The hijackers had asked that the plane be diverted to Iran or Syria but the pilots landed the plane at Antalya airport, near the Mediterranean coast, said Tuncay Doganer, CEO of the private Atlas-Jet airline company.
Most of the passengers managed to escape from the rear exit of the plane while the hijackers were releasing the women from the front exit, one passenger told private NTV television.
Doganer said only crew and "a small number" of passengers were left on-board. CNN-Turk television said two crew -- possibly the pilots -- and nine passengers were still inside.
It was not clear how many hijackers were on-board. The passenger, who was not identified, said they were speaking Arabic between themselves.
Doganer said there were 136 passengers on-board when the plane left Ercan airport in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus this morning.
Another passenger told NTV that anti-terror teams surrounded the plane.
The hijackers had asked that the plane be diverted to Iran or Syria but the pilots landed the plane at Antalya airport, near the Mediterranean coast, said Tuncay Doganer, CEO of the private Atlas-Jet airline company.
Most of the passengers managed to escape from the rear exit of the plane while the hijackers were releasing the women from the front exit, one passenger told private NTV television.
Doganer said only crew and "a small number" of passengers were left on-board. CNN-Turk television said two crew -- possibly the pilots -- and nine passengers were still inside.
It was not clear how many hijackers were on-board. The passenger, who was not identified, said they were speaking Arabic between themselves.
Doganer said there were 136 passengers on-board when the plane left Ercan airport in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus this morning.
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Another passenger told NTV that anti-terror teams surrounded the plane.
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