A passenger jet believed to be carrying 118 people has been forced to land in Malta, after being hijacked in Libyan airspace.
It’s believed the Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 was travelling between Sebha and Tripoli when an allegedly “pro-[Muammar] Gaddafi” hijacker intervened.
The hijacker claims to have a grenade onboard, and has offered to let the 111 passengers free if their demands are met. It’s not yet apparent what those demands are.
The hijacked flight #8U209 is still standing on the runway at Malta Airport https://t.co/2elhRGzLDT pic.twitter.com/p21GjKiCUv
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) December 23, 2016
Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat issued a statement on the diverted flight, saying security personnel are in attendance on the ground:
Informed of potential hijack situation of a #Libya internal flight diverted to #Malta. Security and emergency operations standing by -JM
— Joseph Muscat (@JosephMuscat_JM) December 23, 2016
We’ll update this story as it develops.
Source: RT / BBC / Times Of Malta.
Photo: Steve Zammit Lupi / Times Of Malta.
