Mexico City hijacking ends peacefully

[Naim 6]

September 9th, 2009

 

Hijacking ends peacefully at Mexico City airport

Posted: 05:08 PM ET

 

Mexico City hijacking ends peacefully

 

* Story Highlights

* NEW: Eight of 112 people aboard plane taken into custody, officials say

* NEW: Hijackers' bomb claim turns out to be false, TV station reports

* Hijackers demanded to speak to Mexican president, TV station reported

* President Felipe Calderon reportedly was at airport when hijacking occurred

 

MEXICO CITY (CNN) -- The hijacking of a commercial airliner carrying more than 100 passengers ended peacefully Wednesday when eight people were taken into custody at Mexico City's airport, officials said.

 

The hijackers took control of the Boeing 737 Aeromexico jet as it flew from the resort town of Cancun, Mexico. They said a cardboard box they were carrying contained a bomb, which they threatened to blow up if their demand to speak to President Felipe Calderon was not met, CNN affiliate TV Azteca said.

 

The jet was moved to a remote area of the airport, and passengers were allowed to deplane; clutching their hand luggage, they walked slowly down the stairway to the tarmac.

 

Moments later, the suspects were taken into custody and the package turned out not to contain explosives, the station said.

 

A U.S. law enforcement official familiar with the situation said preliminary information indicated there were 112 passengers aboard the plane, all from Mexico, the United States or France. Eight individuals were arrested the official said.

 

"The flight was very tranquil," said Marisa Lopez, a passenger who was seated in Row 24 with her baby.

 

She said the only thing that caught her attention was a large number of emergency vehicles that were lined up along the tarmac when they arrived, five minutes ahead of schedule.

 

"Really, it was all very peaceful," she said. "We saw nothing."

 

Others were more aware of what was going on.

 

"It was very difficult, but the pilot told us to remain calm," said another passenger, who added that many of the passengers were families returning from vacation in Cancun.

 

The woman said the hijackers never spoke to them during the 45 minutes they were held.

 

"We were scared," said another woman. "But it seemed like things got under control when we came down. We were immediately surrounded when we landed by federal police."

 

The woman, who had been seated in the middle of the plane, said the hijackers were in the front of the plane.

 

The incident began at 1:40 p.m. as the plane -- Flight 576 -- arrived from Cancun, and ended more than an hour later, slightly before 3 p.m.

 

TV Azteca said that the hijackers may have been Colombian or Bolivian. Bolivia's ambassador to Mexico, Jorge Mancilla Torres, said he had seen no evidence that they were Bolivian.

 

Calderon was in the presidential hangar in the airport preparing to depart when the incident began, leading him to cancel his planned flight, the station said.

 

Find this article at:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/09/09/mexico.hijacking/index.html

Edited September 9, 2009 by Naim