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World / Middle East

No explosives found on EgyptAir hijacker or on plane: Cyprus police

Published: 29 Mar 2016 - 04:58 pm | Last Updated: 09 Nov 2021 - 03:30 am
Peninsula

Security forces detain the hijacker of the EgyptAir Airbus A-320, which was diverted to Cyprus, after he surrendered to security forces after a six-hour standoff on the tarmac at Larnaca airport's largely disused old terminal on March 29, 2016. The hijacker who seized the Egyptian airliner and forced it to land in Cyprus has been detained, Cypriot government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said. / AFP / GEORGE MICHAEL

 

Larnaca:  Cyprus: Searches by Cyprus police found no explosives on the hijacker of an EgyptAir plane diverted to the island or inside the aircraft, a police source told AFP.

The hijacker, who is in custody after surrendering to police following a six-hour standoff at Larnaca airport, had claimed to be wearing an explosives belt, Egyptian officials said.

Counter-terrorism police frisked the hijacker on the tarmac then interrogated him for more than an hour before boarding the plane and searching it with sniffer dogs.

AFP