Hijacked Libyan plane lands in Malta with 118 people aboard: Media

Updates: 22:53

Hijackers of Libyan plane surrender, detained

The two hijackers of a Libyan internal flight have surrendered, searched and taken into custody at the Malta International Airport, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Friday on Twitter.

All of the 109 passengers and seven crew members had been released unharmed earlier.

The Libyan plane, flying a domestic route in Libya, was hijacked and landed at Malta International Airport at 11:32 a.m. local time.

The Afriqiyah Airways flight had departed the southern Libyan city of Sebha in the morning, originally on its way to the Libyan capital Tripoli.

Updates: 22:03

Hijackers release all passengers on board Libyan plane

Potentially two hijackers and some of the seven crew members still remained on board a Libyan plane, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Friday on Twitter.

All of the 109 passengers have earlier been released by group.

The Libyan plane, flying a domestic route in Libya, was hijacked and landed at Malta International Airport at 11:32 a.m. local time.

The Afriqiyah Airways flight had departed the southern Libyan city of Sebha in the morning, originally on its way to the Libyan capital Tripoli.

At this point, it is not known what hijackers' requests are.

Citing Arab sources, Maltese national TV station TVM reported that the two hijackers, armed with explosive devices, were from southern Libya.

Updates: 21:50

Hijackers releasing crew members of Libyan plane

Crew members are being released from a hijacked Libyan plane, Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Friday on Twitter.

The plane has 111 passengers on board -- 82 males, 28 females and one infant. It also has seven crew members.

People disembark from a hijacked Libyan Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 on the runway at Malta Airport, December 23, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

Updates: 21:17

Second group of 25 passengers leaves hijacked Libyan plane

The second group of 25 passengers is being released from a hijacked Libyan plane, Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Friday on Twitter.

The plane has 111 passengers on board, 82 males, 28 females, and one infant.

Updates: 21:03

First group of passengers leaves hijacked Libyan plane in Malta

The first group of passengers, made up of women and children, are being released now from a hijacked Libyan plane, Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Friday on Twitter.

"First 25 passengers (are) released," he said in a separate Twitter.

The Libyan airplane with 111 passengers on board and flying a domestic route in Libya, was hijacked and landed in Malta on Friday morning.

The Afriqiyah Airways plane departed the southern Libyan city of Sebha at 7:00 a.m. on Friday, originally on its way to the Libyan capital Tripoli.

The hijacked airplane landed at Malta International Airport at 11:32 a.m. local time.

It has 111 passengers on board, 82 males, 28 females, and one infant, Muscat said.

Related: Hijacked Libyan plane lands in Malta with 118 people aboard

An airliner on an internal flight in Libya was hijacked by a man claiming to have a hand grenade on Friday and diverted to Malta, where it landed with 118 people on board.

The hijacker told crew he was "pro-Gaddafi" and that he was willing to let all 111 passengers leave the Airbus A320, but not its seven crew, if his demands were met, the Times of Malta said.

It was unclear what the demands were. Some media reports said there was more than one hijacker. Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed in an uprising in 2011, and the country has been racked by factional violence since.

Troops took up positions a few hundred metres (yards) from the plane as it stood on the tarmac and no one was seen boarding or leaving it. The aircraft's engines were still running 45 minutes after it landed late in the morning, the Times of Malta said.

Some other flights at Malta International Airport were cancelled or diverted, it said.

A senior Libyan security official told Reuters that when the plane was still in flight on Friday morning the pilot told the control tower at Tripoli's Mitiga airport it had been hijacked.

"The pilot reported to the control tower in Tripoli that they were being hijacked, then they lost communication with him," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The pilot tried very hard to have them land at the correct destination but they refused."

Large numbers of security officials could be seen at Mitiga airport after news of the hijacking.

The aircraft had been flying from Sebha in southwest Libya to Tripoli for state-owned Afriqiyah Airways, a route that would usually take a little over two hours.

The tiny Mediterranean island of Malta, a European Union member, is about 500 km (300 miles) north of Tripoli.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat tweeted: "Informed of potential hijack situation of a #Libya internal flight diverted to #Malta. Security and emergency operations standing by -JM".

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.