Officials say Man briefly hijacks Russian plane, passengers freed by disguised police
By APThursday, July 29, 2010
Russia foils passenger plane hijacking
MOSCOW — A man briefly hijacked a plane at a Moscow airport on Thursday, holding 105 passengers hostage on the ground until police disguised as medics overpowered him and detained him, officials said.
The plane landed at Domodedovo Airport after flying from the southern Russian city of Mineralnie Vody, airport spokeswoman Yelena Galanova told The Associated Press.
The hijacker held the crew and passengers for 2 hours after landing, demanding a meeting with law enforcement officials and journalists, and claiming he had important information, said Tatyana Trunova, a spokeswoman for transport police.
A dramatic rescue operation involving Russia’s special FSB forces and police agents ensued when the hijacker agreed to allow medics aboard to treat passengers who had fallen ill, Trunova said. Doctors went aboard, accompanied by police dressed as medics, and the man was overpowered, Trunova said.
Mineralniye Vody is in Russia’s troubled North Caucasus region, which suffers daily violence attributed to separatist militants.
