Libya hijack: Libyan Afriqiyah Airways flight seized by hijackers in Malta – as it happened
See The Independent's live updates as the situation unfolded
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Your support makes all the difference.Two hijackers who diverted a Libyan passenger plane to Malta claiming to have a grenade have surrendered peacefully following hours of tense negotiations.
There were 118 people, including seven crew members, on board the hijacked Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320, which was travelling from Sabha in south east Libya to the capital Tripoli.
These were The Independent's live updates as the situation unfolded:
:: Libyan plane lands in Malta in 'potential hijack situation'
The Libyan transport minister has said negotiations have begun with the hijackers of the Libyan plane, according to Anadolu news agency
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Pictures of security services near the flight believed to have been hijacked at Malta International Airport
The Libyan government has now confirmed hijackers have diverted a plane belong to a national Libyan carrier to Malta, according to AFP
“The pilot reported to the control tower in Tripoli that they were being hijacked, then they lost communication with him,” a senior security official at Tripoli's Mitiga airport has told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“The pilot tried very hard to have them land at the correct destination but they refused.”
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Delayed flights from Malta International Airport
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Scenes from the departure lounge at Malta airport, from a video taken by a passenger
A negotiating team awaiting instructions from the Maltese Prime Minister is now on standby at Malta International Airport. Joseph Muscat is in a meeting with the country's National Security Committee, reported AP.
Kurt Farrugia, the Maltese Government's head of communications, has said Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is in contact with Libyan Prime Minister Faez al Serraj.
The last major hijacking in Malta was in 1985, when Palestinians took over an Egyptair plane. Egyptian commandos stormed the aircraft and dozens of people were killed
Television Malta, a terrestrial network operated by the national broadcaster, is broadcasting live video of the plane from the airport on its website:
According to the Times of Malta, the hijackers claim to be from a pro-Gaddafi group called Al Fatah Al Gadida, and offered to release all passengers apart from the crew if their demands were met.
Al Fatah Al Gadida roughly translates to the 'new opening' or 'new victory' but the organisation is unknown and has not been reported on by Western media in the past.