NEWS

Egypt Air hijacker surrenders at Cyprus airport

Egypt Air hijacker surrenders at Cyprus airport

Cypriot authorities say the hijacker of Egypt Air Flight MS181 has surrendered and that a “suicide” belt seen around his waist did not contain any explosives.

"All passengers and crew are safe," Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said on his Twitter account.

"The situation is over," added a Cypriot official.

The man, identified as 59-year-old veterinary professor Seif Eldin Mustafa, is undergoing questioning but is said to be in a fragile mental state.

Mustafa threatened to detonate an explosive device while midair on a flight from Alexandria to Cairo on Tuesday morning and demanded that the plane be rerouted to Larnaca airport in Cyprus, where he asked to be put into contact with his ex-wife.

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