An EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo was forced to make an emergency landing in Cyprus by a hijacker wearing a suicide bomb vest early Tuesday.
The hijacker forced the pilot to make the landing at Larnaca airport, and then later released all hostages except five foreign passengers on board, as well as members of the crew.
The plane was carrying about 60 people, including seven crew members, when it landed in Larnaca. Initial negotiations led to the release of all passengers with the exception of the aforementioned foreigners and the crew. Reuters reports that there were eight British and 10 American nationals on board.
“The pilot said that a passenger told him he had an explosives vest and forced the plane to land in Larnaca,” the Egyptian civil aviation ministry said in a statement, according to the BBC.
“The information we have so far is that it is one hijacker. The person has yet to make any demands,” Cypriot foreign ministry Alexandros Zenon told French television.
The Larnaca airport has been closed and all scheduled flights diverted elsewhere.
This story is developing…