Sudan hijack ends, passengers safe
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-01-24 17:03
Khartoum - A hijacked Sudanese plane has landed safely in the Chadian capital
N'Djamena and all 103 passengers are safe as the Sudanese hijacker requested
asylum from the French embassy, an airline official said on Wednesday.
The Air West domestic Sudanese flight was diverted by an armed Sudanese man
at 9 am (0600 GMT) who demanded the Boeing 737 fly onto N'Djamena.
"The
plane has landed ... the hijacker was met by the French ambassador and all the
passengers are safe," said Ahmed Salih, commercial director of Air West in
Sudan.
The domestic
Sudanese passenger plane has been hijacked after leaving Khartoum by the unknown gunman who
diverted the plane to Chad's capital N'Djamena.
Ahmed Salih, commercial manager of the Air West airline, said the unidentified gunman
hijacked the plane with an AK-47 machine gun.
It was not clear how the
hijacker got on board the plane with a weapon, but Sudanese security is often
lax, especially on internal flights.
In 2004 Eritreans seeking asylum
hijacked a plane travelling from Libya to Eritrea and forced it to land in
Khartoum airport. Sudan eventually granted the hijackers political
asylum.
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