jijaji 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2001 MUMBAI TO DELHI PLANE HIJACKED NEW DELHI: A Boeing 737 belonging to India's state-run Alliance Air, with 54 people on board, was hijacked just after take-off from Mumbai early Thursday, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Shahnawaz Hussain said. The Times of India received a distress call from a passenger of the hijacked aircraft. The Star News said all the passengers were unharmed but that they remained aboard the jet, which was parked at an isolated area at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The plane was surrounded by police and commandos. Delhi Police Commissioner Ajai Raj Sharma has reached the runway where the plane is parked. Bomb disposal squad of the Delhi Police has also arrived at the scene. A high-level team headed by Union Home Minister L K Advani is meeting at the Civil Aviation Ministry headquarters at Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan here. The meeting which began shortly before 2:30 am is being attended by Civil Aviation Minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain and top security and intelligence officials Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Shahnawaz Hussain said a hijack distress call had been received by the Air Traffic Control (ATC) in New Delhi where the plane had landed at around 1 a.m. Hussain said the pilots of the comandeered plane had asked for engineers but could not offer more details. "We just got one message. The pilot did not give any more details. Our contigency plans are in place," the aviation minister said, adding that all the passengers on board the aircraft were "safe." Sources said the hijackers were two in number and spoke little English. The aircraft, flight No. CD 7444, on its way to Delhi, was hijacked after passing Ahmedabad, initial reports said. The plane, with 54 on board, departed from Mumbai at 11:15 pm. The Alliance Air is a subsidiary of the Indian Airlines. The plane is now parked at an isolated bay runway 27 of the airport. Police and fire vehicles have rushed towards the site. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted October 3, 2001 <h3>Kashmir: India's chief minister calls for war against Pakistan</h3> BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Oct 3, 2001 Text of report by Indian Doordarshan TV on 3 October An emotional Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, today said that the time has come to wage an open war against Pakistan and smash the militant training camps there. Sobbing uncontrollably, the chief minister was speaking in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly in the wake of the suicide bomb attack on Monday that killed at least 38 persons. Bashir Malik reports: [Malik] Heart-rending scenes were witnessed in Jammu and Kashmir legislature today when state Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah, while speaking on the motion of condolences moved by the speaker in memory of the people killed in the suicidal attack on 1 October, broke down. In his choked voice, the chief minister asked when the country will awake and stop the massacre of Kashmiri people. [Abdullah, in Urdu] [indistinct; English subtitles] When will God bring an end to this all? We pray to God to help us, be merciful and help us out of the situation. There is a limit of patience. Till how long we will suffer. Is it not time to wage a war against Pakistan? Is it not time. To fight Pakistan and remove terrorist camps operating on the other side of the LoC [Line of Control]? [video shows Abdullah crying, wiping away his tears. Other assembly members are also seen wiping away their tears] [Malik] The treasury as well as the members of the opposition, and even people in the press gallery were seen wiping their tears. Earlier, while condoling the death of their colleagues, many lady employees of the assembly and council wept bitterly, condemned the attack on innocent employees. Some of them even fainted and employees organized a condolence meeting in memory of their deceased colleagues. In all 38 people, including 10 employees of the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, were killed in the attack, including two deputy secretaries and one under secretary. Bashir Malik, Doordarshan News, Srinagar. Source: Doordarshan television, New Delhi, in English 1430 gmt 3 Oct 01 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jijaji 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2001 Hijacked 737 Jet Lands in New Delhi The Associated Press Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2001; 5:00 p.m. EDT NEW DELHI, India –– A Boeing 737 jetliner reportedly carrying 54 people was hijacked Wednesday night on a domestic flight from Bombay and landed in New Delhi, India's civil aviation minister said. National security force commandos surrounded the plane early Thursday and the pilot was in communication with air traffic controllers in New Delhi, Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav said. The plane was parked at an isolated area of Indira Gandhi International Airport. All 54 passengers and crew were unharmed but remained on board the jet, said private New Delhi Television, a subsidiary of Star News. It said two hijackers were on board. Yadav said authorities received an anonymous call after the plane departed Bombay saying the plane had been hijacked after its departure. The pilot contacted air traffic controllers in New Delhi while the plane was flying over Ahmadabad, north of Bombay, he said. The Times of India said it received a distress call from a passenger on board the hijacked flight. The jet belonged to Alliance Air, a domestic subsidiary of Indian Airlines. India has been on alert since the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States, in which hijackers seized jetliners and struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Suspected Islamic militants exploded a car bomb near the entrance to India's disputed Kashmir state legislature on Monday, then opened fire on security forces inside, killing 40 people and wounding dozens of others. A Pakistan-based militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, claimed responsibility. On Dec. 24, 1999, five hijackers seized an Indian Airlines flight carrying 178 passengers and 11 crew members after it left Nepal. The captors killed one passenger and released others early in the hijacking. The hijackers left the plane in Afghanistan with 155 hostages on board on Dec. 31 after India agreed to release three prisoners. © Copyright 2001 The Associated Press Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted October 3, 2001 <h3>Indian Government Will Storm Hijacked Aircraft If Crisis Not Resolved in 3 Hours</h3> Source: rediff.com Published: October 03 2001 Author: Sheela Bhatt in New Delhi <h4>Govt for quick end to hijack drama: intelligence officer</h4> With memories of the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC 814 still fresh in their minds, there is no way authorities will repeat the mistakes they made during that incident and allow the aircraft to take off again, a senior intelligence officer told rediff.com. "If the matter is resolved through talks, well and good. But we will not stretch the negotiation process," he asserted. He said the government was clear that any commando action had to be completed before dawn. According to the officer, the government is willing to negotiate for two to three hours at the most, but if the crisis is not resolved, National Security Guard (NSG) commandos will storm the aircraft. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted October 3, 2001 <font color="red"><h1>FALSE ALARM!!!</h1></font> <h3>Indian Govt: Hijacking a False Alarm</h3> By Laurinda Keys Associated Press Writer Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2001; 7:06 p.m. EDT NEW DELHI, India ?? A reported plane hijacking Wednesday night on a domestic flight from Bombay was a false alarm caused by an anonymous phone call and confusion aboard the aircraft, the government said. Earlier, civil aviation officials said hijackers seized a Boeing 737 jetliner shortly after its departure from Bombay. Reports said 54 people and crew members were on board. National security force commandos surrounded the plane early Thursday at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. Fire vehicles and ambulances ringed the runway. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jijaji 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2001 We will be getting alot of these 'On again off again' reports as this thing escalates. ------------------ STAND AND FIGHT Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
