An Egyptian passenger plane conveying 82 passengers and a crew of 7 has been hijacked by a 27 year old Egyptian identified as Ibrahim Samaham.
The hijacker was said to be putting on a suicide vest as the plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Cyprus.
EgyptAir MS181 was en-route from Alexandria to Cairo when it requested permission to make an emergency landing at Larnaca Airport on Cyprus.
The hijacker made no immediate demands and later allowed Egyptian passengers to disembark, Cypriot state television reported.In a statement issued in Arabic, EhyptAir said, “negotiations with hijacker resulted in the release of all the passengers except cabin crew and four foreigners.”
The Egypt Air hijacker has reportedly demanded asylum in Cyprus and has demanded a letter be handed to his ex-wife who lives in Larnaca, Cyprus, according to Cyprus TV, Bloomberg reported.