Passengers and crew foil hijack attempt during flight to Urumqi
By Yang Jian and Li Qian |
June 30, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
PASSENGERS leapt into action to help aircrew foil an attempted hijacking by six men on a flight in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region yesterday.
Two policemen on the flight were seriously injured while the head attendant and seven passengers received minor injuries, Xinhua news agency said.
There were more than 92 passengers and nine crew members aboard Tianjin Airlines' Flight GS7554 when the men attempted the hijack about six minutes after take-off from the desert city of Hotan at 12:25pm. The plane was heading for the regional capital Urumqi, about 1,400 kilometers away, police said.
The six suspects are in police custody, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said.
"The hijackers claimed to have a bomb and tried to rush into the cockpit, but failed to open the door," a Beijing resident whose husband was on the flight, told Shanghai Daily yesterday.
The woman, who declined to be named, said one of the hijackers took out a ball-shaped device and tried to ignite it.
Two guards on the flight and several passengers, some of whom were police officers, jumped from their seats to tackle the hijackers, she said.
They forced the hijacker to let go of the device before it could be ignited and finally subdued all of them as more passengers rushed to help, she said.
"One of the hijackers pretended to be lame and hid the device in a walking stick to be able to dodge the security checks at the airport," she said.
During the fight, he used the walking stick as a weapon to seriously injure the guards and passengers, she added.
The jet returned to Hotan Airport at 12:41pm.
Police checked all passengers after the plane landed and discovered another accomplice of the hijackers, the woman said.
Police asked all the passengers to write down what they had seen during the hijacking attempt, she said.
The airline arranged another flight at around 9:30pm to take the passengers to their destination.
A photograph posted online showed passengers holding down the head of at least one of the suspects and some blood could be seen on one of the seats.
In another picture, more than 10 armed police could be seen on the runway beside the plane.
The civil aviation administration said a police investigation was ongoing and it could give no further details.
A spokeswoman for Hainan Airlines, which owns Tianjin Airlines, said: "The airline is cooperating with the police to investigate the case and is not allowed to reveal any more details."
In March 2008, two Uygur women attempted to blow up a China Southern Airlines flight from Urumqi to Beijing, but were stopped by crew members. A stewardess detected the smell of gasoline during the flight and traced it to one of the women who became agitated when questioned. Her accomplice was caught trying to ignite fuel in the plane's bathroom.
Two policemen on the flight were seriously injured while the head attendant and seven passengers received minor injuries, Xinhua news agency said.
There were more than 92 passengers and nine crew members aboard Tianjin Airlines' Flight GS7554 when the men attempted the hijack about six minutes after take-off from the desert city of Hotan at 12:25pm. The plane was heading for the regional capital Urumqi, about 1,400 kilometers away, police said.
The six suspects are in police custody, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said.
"The hijackers claimed to have a bomb and tried to rush into the cockpit, but failed to open the door," a Beijing resident whose husband was on the flight, told Shanghai Daily yesterday.
The woman, who declined to be named, said one of the hijackers took out a ball-shaped device and tried to ignite it.
Two guards on the flight and several passengers, some of whom were police officers, jumped from their seats to tackle the hijackers, she said.
They forced the hijacker to let go of the device before it could be ignited and finally subdued all of them as more passengers rushed to help, she said.
"One of the hijackers pretended to be lame and hid the device in a walking stick to be able to dodge the security checks at the airport," she said.
During the fight, he used the walking stick as a weapon to seriously injure the guards and passengers, she added.
The jet returned to Hotan Airport at 12:41pm.
Police checked all passengers after the plane landed and discovered another accomplice of the hijackers, the woman said.
Police asked all the passengers to write down what they had seen during the hijacking attempt, she said.
The airline arranged another flight at around 9:30pm to take the passengers to their destination.
A photograph posted online showed passengers holding down the head of at least one of the suspects and some blood could be seen on one of the seats.
In another picture, more than 10 armed police could be seen on the runway beside the plane.
The civil aviation administration said a police investigation was ongoing and it could give no further details.
A spokeswoman for Hainan Airlines, which owns Tianjin Airlines, said: "The airline is cooperating with the police to investigate the case and is not allowed to reveal any more details."
In March 2008, two Uygur women attempted to blow up a China Southern Airlines flight from Urumqi to Beijing, but were stopped by crew members. A stewardess detected the smell of gasoline during the flight and traced it to one of the women who became agitated when questioned. Her accomplice was caught trying to ignite fuel in the plane's bathroom.
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