Cairo : Xinhua news agency reported that an EgyptAir plane on a domestic route with around 80 people on board, including 10 Americans and eight Britons, was hijacked on Tuesday and then landed in Cyprus, officials said.
All but five foreign passengers were later released.
CNN told that the Airbus 320 was on its way from Alexandria to capital Cairo when a passenger claiming to have an explosive belt took charge of the plane, pilot Omar El Gamal told the authorities, Ihab Raslan, spokesman for the Egyptian civil aviation ministry.
According to BBC, Cypriot police said those in control of the aircraft had made no immediate demands after it landed in Larcana. The Larnaca airport was closed and all scheduled flights were diverted.
The hijacked flight #MS181 is currently standing on ground at Larnaca Airport with transponder on pic.twitter.com/9phFjuXUaX
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 29, 2016
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