| Heel n Toe |
03-29-2016 01:19 AM |
Negotiations with the hijacker have resulted in the release of all passengers, except for seven crew and four foreigners, a statement from the Egyptian ministry of civil aviation said.
EgyptAir had previously reported through its official Twitter account that five foreigners were being held captive on the plane, but changed to four.
Pilot Omar El Gamal has reported a threat from a passenger claiming to have an explosive belt, who forced the plane to land in Cyprus, the statement added.
The spokesman for Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry Ehab Raslan tells CNN they doubt the hijacker had any explosives.
"I doubt that he had explosives because security has been heightened across all Egyptian airports but we will be able to confirm later," Raslan said.
He added that an Egyptian team is conducting the negotiations with the hijacker.
More: Hijacked EgyptAir jet lands in Cyprus - CNN.com |
