A plane of EgyptAir company has been hijacked by unidentified people on its journey to Cairo from Alexandria.
Reuters reports that the hijacked aircraft with 82 passengers on board has landed in Larnaca (Cyprus). There is no information about other details of the incident, Interfax reports.
Reuters reports about 51 passengers and 7 crew members on board.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry there are no Russians on board.
It is reported that an unidentified man threatened the captain that he would blow up a suicide belt if his demand is not fulfilled. The pilot then contacted the ground services, informing them about what was happening and landed at Larnaca airport.
The police currently have no information about the bomb threat on board.
According to local media, the hijackers have expressed their willingness to release women and children who are citizens of Egypt.
50 passengers, apart from 5 passengers and the crew, have been released from the aircraft, the Egyptian Ministry of Aviation said.
The hijacker has been named as Egyptian Ibrahim Samaha, he is a lecturer at a university in Atlanta, according to the country's state broadcasters.
At the moment, it is known that he has asked for political asylum in Cyprus, presumably because Samaha's wife currently lives in Cyprus. At the same time, according to some reports, the hijacker planned to fly to Turkey, but the plane landed in Larnaca due to lack of fuel.
Al Arabiya also reports that there are no explosives on board. The hijacker has released five more hostages.
Later information was confirmed that the hijacker is Saif al-Din Mustafa, who demanded the release of several female prisoners
According to recent reports, the crew was able to escape, three hostages walked out of the plane and one pilot escaped through a window.
