All the 111 passengers and crewmembers aboard Libyan Afriqiyah Airways plane that was diverted by two hijackers from Libya to Malta were rescued unhurt yesterday.
Confirming the latest development, the Prime-Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat however added that the two hijackers who diverted the passenger plane had surrendered following hours of intense negotiations, and already have been taken into custody.
The rescued passengers included 82 men, 28 women and one infant. The hijacked plane was travelling from Sabha in South-East Libya to the capital Tripoli.
One of the men who hijacked the plane told Libyan TV he was the head of a party supporting late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi.
The hijacker, who gave his name as Moussa Shaha, told Libya’s Channel TV station by phone that he was the head of Al-Fateh Al-Jadeed, or The New Al-Fateh, a party loyal to Gaddafi.
Al-Fateh is the name that Gaddafi gave to September, the month he staged a coup in 1969, and the word came to signify his coming to power.