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EgyptAir hijack: Man surrenders at Larnaca airport | |
(35 minutes later) | |
The hijacking of a domestic Egyptian flight that forced it to divert to Larnaca airport in Cyprus has ended with all hostages being released and the hijacker surrendering. | |
EgyptAir Flight MS181 was taken over by a passenger claiming to be wearing a suicide explosive belt. | EgyptAir Flight MS181 was taken over by a passenger claiming to be wearing a suicide explosive belt. |
After a morning of tension, the hijacker was seen walking down the steps of the aircraft with his hands raised. | |
His motives remain unclear. | |
Live updates | |
Some reports saying the Egyptian man - named by Cypriot officials as Seif Eldin Mustafa - wanted to talk to his estranged Cypriot wife, while others said he was seeking the release of female prisoners in Egypt. | |
The Cypriot president insisted that the hijack was not terrorism-related. | |
The hijacker's surrender came shortly after several people were seen fleeing the aircraft. One - apparently a crew member - escaped by climbing out of the aircraft's cockpit window. | |
In a tweet, the Cypriot foreign ministry confirmed the end of the crisis: "It's over. The hijacker arrested." | |
Throughout the morning, people had been seen leaving the aircraft after appearing to have been released. | |
Local media reports said the hijacker had handed over a four-page letter in Arabic after the plane landed at Larnaca on Tuesday morning, and that a woman thought to be his wife had arrived at the airport. | |
Earlier, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades had responded to a reporter's question about whether the hijacker was motivated by romance, by laughing and saying: "Always there is a woman involved." | |
EgyptAir said the Airbus A320 was carrying 56 passengers from Alexandria to Cairo, along with six crew and a security official. It had initially said 81 passengers were on board. | |
A statement from Egypt's civil aviation ministry said 26 foreign passengers were on board, including eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch citizens, two Belgians, two Greeks, a French national, an Italian and a Syrian. | |
Larnaca airport, on the south coast of Cyprus, has been closed and scheduled flights diverted elsewhere. | |
Are you at Larnaca airport? Have you been you affected by this story? Email us: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk | Are you at Larnaca airport? Have you been you affected by this story? Email us: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk |
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: | Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: |
Or use the form below | Or use the form below |