Passengers were reportedly taken hostage on a charter flight at a Jamaican airport.
They were boarding the CanJet flight from Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay to Halifax, Canada, late Sunday when the security breach occurred, said Elizabeth Scotton, a spokeswoman for the company that manages the airport.
Scotton would not say how many hostages were being held.
The man reportedly breached security systems using fake ID and boarded the plane as it was preparing to take off at around 2230 local time (0430 GMT).
By: Rickt - 20th April 2009 at 13:16
Its over…. all safe..
A gunman who was holding six crew members hostage on board a passenger jet at an airport in Jamaica has surrendered.
Police said the man had been disarmed and arrested.
The remaining hostages – the crew of a CanJet plane on a runway in Montego Bay – have been released unharmed, government officials said.
The rest of the passengers were released earlier and taken to nearby Cornwall Regional Hospital, some suffering from shock.
The suspect, believed to be armed with a handgun, is a Jamaican national aged about 20, according to information minister Daryl Vaz, who described him as “mentally challenged”.
The man demanded to be flown to Cuba after he forced his way on board the charter flight on the tarmac at Sangster International Airport.
He gained access through a security entrance around 10.30pm local time (0330 GMT) using several fake indentification cards.
At least one shot was fired inside the Canada-bound plane, according to reports but police said no one was wounded.
“Flight 918 was carrying 182 passengers and crew,” Canadian charter airline Canjet said in a statement.
“All passengers have been safely removed from the aircraft, but CanJet crew and the armed man remain on board.
“Our understanding is that no harm has come to anyone remaining on board,” it added.
Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding and his national security minister, Dwight Nelson, travelled to Montego Bay to take charge of the situation in the Caribbean nation’s prime tourist resort.
By: Rickt - 20th April 2009 at 11:22
Taken from here..
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/9011496.html
Halifax-bound plane hijacked at Jamaica airport
Six crew members held hostage, passengers safe
By THE CANADIAN PRESS
Mon. Apr 20 – 7:19 AMDimitri Soudas, press secretary for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, speaks with the media about a hijacked Canjet plane in Kingston, Jamaica early Monday. (ADRIAN WYLD / The Canadian Press)
MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica — Six crew members on board a Canadian airliner were being held hostage at gunpoint early Monday after a lone gunman with “mental issues” forced his way through security and stormed the jet as it was preparing to depart Jamaica for Halifax.
All the passengers who were to be on board Canjet Airlines flight 918, scheduled to leave Montego Bay at 11 p.m. Sunday night local time, were safely off the plane, said Sangster International Airport spokeswoman Elizabeth Scotton.
Jamaica’s Information Minister Daryl Vaz spoke to CNN
» Click here to read a statement from Canjet“There are no passengers involved at this time, and there’s no passengers on board the aircraft,” Scotton said in a telephone interview with The Canadian Press. In all, 182 people had been scheduled to be aboard, the airline said.
In a statement released early Monday, Jamaican police said two of the Boeing 737’s eight crew members had been released, while the rest remained on board.
“The passengers have all been debriefed by the Jamaican police and have been placed in local hotels,” the statement said.
The situation was still ongoing, Scotton said, adding that police were on the scene and had cordoned off the airport. She said no injuries have been reported.
Most of the passengers had not yet boarded the flight when the situation developed on the tarmac, Scotton said, although police said dozens of passengers were briefly held hostage before being released.
Police said negotiations were ongoing with the gunman, who apparently managed to force his way through security and board the plane about 40 minutes before it was scheduled to take off.
Daryl Vaz, Jamaica’s information minister, told CNN the gunman was believed to be a young Jamaican man in his 20s with “mental issues.” He said the man was demanding to be taken to Cuba.
Vaz said the man’s father had also been brought in to assist with negotiations.
Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding was also in Montego Bay and involved in the negotiations. Police said Golding also met with passengers and “assured them that everything possible was being done to enable them to return home as early as possible.”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who happened to be in Jamaica for a one-day visit, was awakened early Monday with news of the incident, said an official in his office.
The official said the PMO was monitoring developments and was “deeply concerned.”
“A member of the RCMP as well as the management and consular services officer at the Canadian High Commission in Jamaica are en route to Montego Bay to provide assistance,” the official said.
Look like its a mental issue problem rather than terrorist related.
Daryl Vaz, Jamaica’s information minister, told CNN the gunman was believed to be a young Jamaican man in his 20s with “mental issues.” He said the man was demanding to be taken to Cuba.
Vaz said the man’s father had also been brought in to assist with negotiations.
Rick
By: Rickt - 20th April 2009 at 10:37
Lets hope its all sorted asap and no one is hurt…
Im flying out to Montego Bay on Thursday! 😮
Rick
By: swerve - 20th April 2009 at 10:13
Bizarre. Why didn’t he just buy a ticket to Cuba? There are direct flights from Montego Bay (where the hijacked plane was leaving from) to Havana – and more from Kingston.
the old “Take me to Cuba” thing was a US thing, due to the embargo. You couldn’t get a plane from the USA to Cuba. But from Jamaica . . . . :confused:
By: Newforest - 20th April 2009 at 08:29
Confirmed by CNN, all passengers are now released and only the five crew are still hostages. The hijacker has requested a flight to Cuba, (think he is in the wrong century?).
By: Rickt - 20th April 2009 at 08:05
According to Reuters, its the cabin crew which are hostage, not PAX.
Rick
Sign In
April 20, 2009 at 7:31 am