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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Peter Walker

EgyptAir hijacker's 'suicide belt' a fake, say Cyprus officials – as it happened

EgyptAir hijack: what we know - video explainer

Summary

With the hijack over, seemingly without anyone hurt, and the man responsible in the custody of Cypriot police, here’s a final run-through of what we know:

  • A man claiming to be wearing a suicide belt hijacked an EgyptAir flight from Alexandria to Cairo, forcing the pilot to divert to Larnaca in Cyprus, where he held passengers and crew hostage.
  • The six-hour siege ended peacefully, with passengers and crew leaving the plane gradually. The hijacker, identified as Seif Eldin Mustafa, an Egyptian national, walked down the plane steps and was arrested.
  • The motives for the hijack remain unclear. Reports and comments by the president of Cyprus suggested the man was motivated by a desire to contact his ex-wife, a Cypriot national, who was reportedly brought to the airport to talk to him. But officials said later that he was seeking the release of some female prisoners in Egypt, and to speak to EU officials.
  • The foreign ministry of Cyprus said after the hijack was over that the perpetrator was “psychologically unstable”. Officials at the foreign ministry in Egypt were more blunt: “He’s not a terrorist, he’s an idiot.”
  • Egyptian officials said the 55 passengers included eight Americans, four Britons, two Belgians, one Italian and four Dutch people, with the remainder Egyptian. The final part of the sisge saw just seven hostages remaining, three passengers and four crew or security officials.
  • Cypriot officials said later that the supposed suicide belt was a fake, During the hijack, Egypt’s civil aviation minister said that this could be the case, but the only safe option was to act as if it might be real.
  • The incident is another blow to Egypt’s tourism industry, which has faced questions over air security since bombing of the Russian Metrojet airliner in October.

Here’s another photo of the man believed to be the hijacker as he left the plane to surrender to authorities.

A man believed to be the hijacker of the EgyptAir plane.
A man believed to be the hijacker of the EgyptAir plane. Photograph: George Michael/AFP/Getty Images

Hijacker's 'suicide belt' was fake: officials

Officials in Cyprus have said the supposed suicide belt worn by the hijacker was not real, Reuters has quoted Egypt’s civil aviation ministry as saying.

This will partly explain how the man was able to get the item on board the plane, but raises questions about whether crew or the air marshal reportedly on the flight as well could have been able to determine this and detain him immediately.

A photo from within Larnaca airport, which is still closed in the wake of the hijack.

A stranded passengers checks the screens at the departure lounge of Larnaca airport.
A stranded passengers checks the screens at the departure lounge of Larnaca airport. Photograph: Emily Irving-Swift/AFP/Getty Images

My colleague, Gwyn Topham, has written a piece about the security lessons of today’s hijack. Here’s a taste:

Despite what appears to be the somewhat farcical nature of the EgyptAir hijacking, any aeroplane incident is liable to raise more concerns in the mind of the travelling public.

The bombing of the Russian Metrojet airliner in October, and subsequent questions about the efficacy of Egypt’s aviation security, virtually ended the tourism industry in its Red Sea resorts. So Egyptian authorities will doubtless be mightily relieved that this hijacking does not have links to Isis-related terror.

Should the hijacker prove to be armed, or to havesmuggled aboard the “suicide belt” that he was claiming to wear, there will be more difficult questions for airport authorities to answer. Nevertheless, at the time of writing, it looks unlikely that the hijacker had any weapons.

It is so far unclear whether the hijacker made it to the A320’s flight deck (cockpit) or simply threatened crew and passengers in the cabin with his purported explosives. At a brief news conference, authorities stressed they had reacted as if the hijacker “represented the highest possible danger”.

If nothing was brought on board, an incident like this, experts say, could have happened on any plane. In this scenario, Egypt’s security authorities have no case to answer so far. Philip Baum, author of Violence in the Skies: A history of aircraft hijacking and bombing, said: “Generally it’s up to the captain of the aircraft to determine whether they have someone with suicidal intent. Obviously first you’d try to overpower them if so. But if they feel it could be managed by following his demands, a landing without anyone being hurt, then that’s what you’d do.

“It sounds like the 2006 Turkish Airlines hijack from Tirana to Istanbul: you had a lone hijacker claiming to carry explosives, but as it happened he had nothing on him.”

This slightly blurry Reuters photo purports to show the man who authorities believe is the hijacker as he left the plane.

A man thought to be the hijacker leaves the hijacked Egyptair plane.
A man thought to be the hijacker leaves the hijacked EgyptAir plane. Photograph: Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters

More from Cypriot officials on the hijacker and his possible motives.

Reuters has some more on the hijacker’s seemingly confused motives, quoting Egypt’s prime minister, Sherif Ismail:

At some moments he asked to meet with a representative of the European Union and at other points he asked to go to another airport but there was nothing specific.

EgyptAir has also now officially declared the hijack to be over.

Reuters is quoting the Egyptian prime minister, Ibrahim Mahlab, as saying the hijacker was Egyptian and had – among other demands – asked to meet EU officials and go to other airports.

Authorities would question the man to “ascertain (his) true motives”, Mahlab added.

Yet more confirmation, this from a Cyprus government spokesman.

Here’s video footage of the man escaping earlier from the cockpit window.

More confirmation is coming of the end of the hijack, with Reuters saying a fifth person left the plane. Some reports are saying one person who left the plane had their hands in the air and was arrested. We did not see this on the live TV images.

Hijack over – Cypriot foreign ministry

No more details, but this is their official Twitter feed.

As we await more movement from the plane, Ruth Michaelson in Cairo has this on the wider aviation security situation:

Zack Gold, a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East and an expert on Egyptian security issues, said that whatever the hijacker’s motives, this incident reflects Egypt’s ongoing issues with airport security following the downing of Metrojet 7K9268 in October.

“The reaction to this story suggests that five months after the Metrojet bombing many still aren’t satisfied with how Egypt improved its aviation security. And it is concerning that the civil aviation minister cannot rule out that the hijacker has a bomb, therefore admitting that a bomb could have gotten through the Alexandria airport.

“However, as the facts unfold and the incident appears to be one of a disturbed individual, the full record should note how professionally EgyptAir crew and pilots handled the situation and kept passengers safe,” he said.

Here’s a photo of the man climbing down from the cockpit window.

A man climbs out of the cockpit window of the hijacked Egyptair plane.
A man climbs out of the cockpit window of the hijacked EgyptAir plane. Photograph: Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters

Confirmation of what we’ve just seen from AFP.

TV pictures show people leaving plane

Images from Cypriot TV have shown someone, possibly dressed in a uniform, climb from an open cockpit window of the plane and run away. Other images have just shown about three people leave the plane via the steps. It is not known if this means the siege is ending.

UK officials still do not know for certain if any Britons are caught up in the hijack, according to David Cameron’s spokesman (quotes via PA):

Our diplomats on the ground are in touch with the Cypriot authorities. There is obviously speculation out there about numbers. At this stage we are working to establish what the facts actually are.

Yet another (possible) twist to the story, according to Helena Smith in Cyprus.

Updated

The released passengers began the day thinking they were en route to Cairo, not Larnaca. EgyptAir has now despatched another plane to fetch them says, Ruth Michaelson in Cairo.

Some more pictures from the scene.

A police sniper at Larnaca airport.
A police sniper at Larnaca airport. Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images
Cypriot security forces drive past the EgyptAir plane.
Cypriot security forces drive past the EgyptAir plane. Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images

Cyprus foreign ministry names hijacker

The foreign ministry of Cyprus has given a new name for the hijacker. Since that the last name provided in reports turned out to be a passenger on the plane, this should be treated with a bit of caution.

Egypt’s foreign ministry has denied that any of its spokespeople gave the very colourful, “He’s not a terrorist, he’s an idiot” quote about the hijacker. However, Ruth Michaelson, to whom the quote was given, notes that it came from an official rather than an official spokesperson. The quote came in an electronic chat message, she adds.

Hijacker demands release of prisoners: report

According to the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation, via Reuters, the hijacker has now made a political demand: the release of some unspecified female prisoners in Egypt.

This remain unconfirmed.

Summary

Such is the fast-changing nature of this story, it’s time for a brief rundown on what we know so far:

Why, the minister is asked, did the plane’s captain yield to the demands of a hijacker who might possibly have had a fake suicide belt? That, he responds, is a matter for a later investigation, once the urgent situation is over. The press conference ends.

It is, I should add, Egypt’s minister of civil aviation who has been speaking. AFP is naming him as Sherif Fathy.

Updated

The official says that as yet the hijacker’s demands remain unknown, or at least cannot be stated publicly. “Up to now we have not had any effective demands that we can announce,” he says.

Egypt press conference begins

The press conference in Egypt has begun. An as yet-unnamed official speaks to confirm that the plane was hijacked by a man who claimed to have a suicide belt, and asked for the plane to go to either Turkey or Cyprus.

There were 55 people of “various nationalities” on board, the official said. They do not yet know if the suicide belt is real, but the siege is being dealt with as if it is.

Now on the plane are seven people, the official says: the captain and co-pilot, a female crew member, a security officer and three passengers.

Ibrahim Samaha denies he is hijacker: report

BBC News television is saying that the man identified as the hijacker, Ibrahim Samaha, a professor of veterinary medicine, has spoken out to say the reports are wrong and he was one of the passengers, now freed.

Comments purportedly from Samaha and read out by the BBC said passengers initially did not know the plane had been seized. Crew took their passports and they noticed the plane was gaining height rather than descending to Cairo. They were then told they were going to Cyprus, he said.

Updated

We’re due a news conference with officials in Egypt soon. In the interim, Helena Smith says the woman identified as the hijacker’s ex-wife is now at Larnaca airport to help negotiate with him.

Here’s an image of some of the passengers freed earlier from the hijacked flight.

Passengers freed from the EgyptAir plane.
Passengers freed from the EgyptAir plane. Photograph: George Michael/AFP/Getty Images

More on the possible identities of those left on board the plane from Helena Smith.

The additional people seen leaving the aircraft earlier appear to be freed crew members. However, it remains unclear how many remain on the plane.

News agencies and other reports are naming the hijacker as Ibrahim Abdel Tawwab Samaha, a professor of veterinary medicine at Alexandria university.

Updated

Ruth Michaelson in Cairo reports that Egypt’s foreign ministry says it believes the hijacker’s supposed explosives belt might be a fake:

Officials at the Egyptian foreign ministry cast doubts on the idea that the hijacker’s explosive belt might be real, given what appears to be personal motives for highjacking the plane. They added that this incident does not undermine Egypt hiring the British firm Control Risks earlier this year to assess airport security across three airports in the country following the downing of Metrojet 7K9268 in October, if the explosives prove to be fake.

The BBC is quoting the head of Alexandria’s Borg El Arab Airport, where the flight departed, as saying the plane was carrying 30 Egyptian nationals, eight Americans, four Britons, two Belgians, one Italian and four Dutch people.

Some more images from Larnaca.

An official telephones from the steps of the hijacked Egyptair plane.
An official telephones from the steps of the hijacked Egyptair plane. Photograph: Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters
A crew member is released from the plane.
A crew member is released from the plane. Photograph: Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters

Ruth Michaelson in Cairo has another update:

President Abdel Fattah al Sisi has spoken with the president of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, according to a statement by the Egyptian presidency.

They are “review[ing] the situation with regard to the hijacked Egyptian aircraft”, it said. Sisi reportedly “stressed Egypt’s commitment to the safety and security of all passengers on board the plane, noting that it is taking all necessary measures to ensure this.”

Both countries stressed their commitment to cooperation over the incident.

Another unconfirmed report via Reuters:

More passengers seen leaving hijacked EgyptAir aircraft in Larnaca – Cyprus state broadcaster.

Helena Smith has more on the Cypriot president’s comments.

Addressing reporters with visiting European Parliament president, Martin Schulz, the Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades ruled out terrorism being behind the hijacking confirming instead that it had been instigated by a love-sick man bent on reuniting with his former Cypriot wife. “It’s all to do with a woman,” said the Cypriot president. “We are doing everything to release the hostages.”

The hijacker is described in some reports as a Lebanese university professor. The woman he names as his ex-wife is now being brought to the airport to take part in the negotiations.

Ruth Michaelson in Cairo has a response from Egypt’s foreign ministry about the reports of the hijacker’s supposed motive:

Officials at Egypt’s ministry of foreign affairs responded to reports that the hijacker’s motives are personal, saying they were aware of the reports that he is seeking asylum and discussing his ex wife. “He’s not a terrorist, he’s an idiot. Terrorists are crazy but they aren’t stupid. This guy is,” they said.

Cyprus president confirms personal motive for hijack

Helena Smith says the Cyprus president, Nikos Anastasiades, confirms the personal motive.

More on the hijacker from Helena Smith.

Hijacker may have personal motives: Cyprus TV

The Cyprus Broadcasting Service, the island’s public TV and radio provider, has said it is believed the hijacker might have personal rather than political motives.

He has an ex-wife in Cyprus, it said, reporting that witnesses said the man threw a letter from the plane in Larnaca, written in Arabic, asking that it be delivered to his ex-wife, who is a Cypriot.

This is all, it needs to be stressed, still unconfirmed.

Reuters quotes Egypt’s state news agency, MENA, as also naming the hijacker as an Egyptian national called Ibrahim Samaha.

A Reuters reporter has more from unconfirmed Egyptian media reports.

Ruth Michaelson in Cairo says the British embassy is looking into reports that the four foreign nationals remaining on the plane are Britons.

It points people to this update on its Facebook page, which reads:

We are aware of reports of a plane hijacking in Egypt and are investigating urgently with the Egyptian and Cypriot authorities. If you are concerned about a UK national please call 0020227916000.

Here’s some video footage of the released passengers leaving the plane.

It’s worth noting that several reports say all the passengers released were Egyptian nationals. That would mean the earlier reports saying there were eight Britons and ten US nationals on the plane might not be correct.

Egyptian TV is naming the hijacker, according to a Reuters reporter in the region. This remains very much unconfirmed.

Here’s a grab from Sky News TV footage showing passengers who were allowed to leave the plane.

Passengers who left the hijacked EgyptAir plane.
Passengers who left the hijacked EgyptAir plane. Photograph: Sky News

TV images are now showing passengers leave the aircraft and get onto airport buses. In a tweeted update, EgyptAir says those still on board are the crew and four foreign nationals, rather than five.

Another image of the plane at Larnaca shows steps being brought up to it.

The EgyptAir plane.
The EgyptAir plane. Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images

More on the news of most passengers being released from Helena Smith:

Almost all passengers now released, says EgyptAir

A tweet from EgyptAir says that following negotiations with the hijacker, everyone has been freed from the plane apart from the cabin crew and five foreign nationals.

Reuters has more news of the eight Briton and 10 Americans reportedly among the passengers, quoting three airport security sources as saying this is the case.

The first photos of the hijacked plane are arriving.

Police stand guard at Larnaca airport near the hijacked plane.
Police stand guard at Larnaca airport near the hijacked plane. Photograph: Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters

UK and US nationals reportedly among those on hijacked plane

A Reuters reporter has tweeted this, citing unnamed Egyptian reports as saying there are eight UK citizens and 10 US nationals on the plane. This has yet to be confirmed.

Another brief update: a senior official from Cyprus’s foreign ministry has told TV stations that the hijacker has yet to make any demands, according to Reuters.

Helena Smith, meanwhile, has this:

Associated Press is also now saying that the hijacker has allowed women and children to leave the plane, and that some are now disembarking.

More from Helena Smith in Cyprus:

An aviation Twitter feed has posted what it says is a (distant) photograph of the hijacked plane on the ground.

According to an alert from Reuters, the hijack took place when the pilot of the plane was threatened by a passenger who appeared to have a suicide bomb belt, according to Egypt’s aviation ministry.

It said the pilot, named as Omar al-Gammal, told authorities he was threatened by the passenger and forced to land in Larnaca.

Updated

EgyptAir confirms the hijack

The airline has confirmed that the plane has been hijacked.

My colleague, Helena Smith, is in Cyprus, and more details about the situation.

The Cyprus Mail website quoted a Cyprus police spokesman, Andreas Angelides, as saying one armed hijacker had taken control of the Airbus A320 before it diverted to Larnaca.

Angelides was quoted as saying there was no news yet about whether the hijacker was demanding anything specific, or if he was a member of an organisation.

Updated

A screengrab from the Flightradar24 website shows the tracked movement of the flight to Cyprus.

Flightradar24 screengrab.

An EgyptAir plane has been hijacked flying from Alexandria to Cairo, and has landed in Cyprus, according to officials in Egypt and Cyprus.

A Cypriot official told AP the plane landed at Larnaca airport, and that a suspected bomb is on board.

Associated Press quoted another Cypriot official as saying it appeared there was more than one hijacker on the plane. The official said there had been no demands other than that police vehicles moved away from the aircraft.

A statement from Egypt’s aviation authority said the flight, MS181, is an Airbus and has 55 passengers on board and five crew members.

We will have more details as soon as they come.

Updated

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