Egyptian passenger plane hijacked
An Egyptian airliner carrying at least passengers has been hijacked and diverted to Cyprus.
It is reported seven crew members were on board.
The Egypt Air Boeing 737-800 that "has been hijacked" to Cyprus was flying from the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria to the Egyptian capital when it was diverted, the officials said.
Egyptian civil aviation said the hijacker had threatened to detonate an explosives belt.
The hijacker contacted the control tower at 8:30 am (0530 GMT) and the plane was given permission to land at 8:50 am, Cyprus police said.
A crisis team was deployed to the airport, the main entry point for tourists to the Mediterranean resort island.
The hijacker made no immediate demands and later allowed Egyptian passengers to disembark, Cypriot state television reported.
The airline tweeted: "Our Flight MS181 is officially hijacked, we’ll publish an official statement now."
20 passengers reportedly released from #EgyptAir flight, one reported hijacker, no confirmation on explosives https://t.co/dmSYSh73xX
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 29, 2016
Our flight MS181 is officially hijacked. we'll publish an official statement now. #Egyptair
— EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) March 29, 2016
(Photo: Getty Images)