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EgyptAir flight MS181 passenger plane hijacked EgyptAir flight MS181 passenger plane hijacked
(35 minutes later)
An EgyptAir plane has been hijacked flying from Alexandria to Cairo and forced to land in Cyprus, airline and Cypriot officials have said. An Egyptian airliner has been hijacked and diverted to Cyprus, triggering a hostage situation at Larnaca airport on the island’s south coast.
The Associated Press quoted a Cypriot official as saying they believe there is a bomb on board the plane, which has landed at Larnaca airport. The EgyptAir MS181 flight was heading from the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria to Cairo with 81 passengers on board when it was seized, Egypt’s civil aviation authority said.
The airline released a statement saying everyone on board had been released except for the crew and four foreign nationals.
It was not immediately clear how many hijackers were involved. Egypt’s civil aviation authority said the hijacker or hijackers had threatened to detonate an explosives belt.
Related: EgyptAir 'hijack': plane from Alexandria to Cairo lands in Cyprus – liveRelated: EgyptAir 'hijack': plane from Alexandria to Cairo lands in Cyprus – live
AP quoted another official as saying it appeared there was more than one hijacker. The official said there had been no demands other than that police vehicles be moved away from the aircraft. The Egyptian civil aviation authority said the pilot was threatened by a passenger with a suicide belt. Cyprus police said the control tower was contacted at 8.30am (05.30am GMT) and the plane was given permission to land at 8.50am.
Airport security sources told Reuters eight Britons and 10 Americans were on the flight.
A crisis team was deployed to the airport, the main entry point for tourists to the Mediterranean resort island.
We are following reports that #MS181 has been hijacked. The aircraft has landed in Larnaca. https://t.co/ZAfjZmVBSJ pic.twitter.com/fNWiiaYZtQWe are following reports that #MS181 has been hijacked. The aircraft has landed in Larnaca. https://t.co/ZAfjZmVBSJ pic.twitter.com/fNWiiaYZtQ
A statement from the Egyptian aviation authority said the MS181 is an Airbus and that it has 55 passengers on board and five crew members. There were no immediate demands, Cypriot state television reported.
The hijacking is likely to bring to the fore again the question of security at Egyptian airports, five months after a Russian aircraft crashed over Egypt’s Sinai peninsula minutes after it took off from Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people on board were killed in the crash. Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft and the extremist Islamic State group said it downed the plane.
This is a breaking news story, please check back for further updatesThis is a breaking news story, please check back for further updates