
Libyan plane hijackers arrested, all passengers out safely
The two hijackers who diverted a Libyan plane to Malta and threatened to blow it up have surrendered themselves to authorities after releasing everyone on board and leaving the plane.
Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the hijackers had been taken in custody, bringing the dramatic incident to an end.
The Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320, on a domestic service in Libya, was carrying 111 passengers, Muscat said.
The plane was on service from Sabha, a desert city in southwestern Libya, to the capital, Tripoli, on the country’s northern coast, but it landed some 350 kilometers north of Tripoli on Malta in the Mediterranean Sea.
Reports indicate that the hijackers were supporters of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.