The man who hijacked the EgyptAir plane and forced it to land in Cyprus has been identified as a 27-year-old called Ibrahim Samaha. He is an Egyptian national who is now demanding political asylum in Europe, according to reports. It is thought he was seated normally with the other passengers on the flight which left Alexandria on Egypt's coast for Cairo at around 8.30am local time on Tuesday morning. But when the plane reached cruising altitude, the hijacker then claimed to have a suicide vest and took control of the plane. Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said the plane's pilot, Omar al-Gammal, Informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger wearing a suicide explosives belt and forced him to land in Larnaca. It was claimed he initially wanted to go to Instanbul in Turkey but the pilot said there wasn't enough fuel. The flight is normally only a 30-minute journey. A Cyprus Foreign Ministry official could not confirm the man was rigged with explosives. The hijacking occurred in Cyprus's flight information region and the plane was forced to land at Larnaca airport. Negotiations with the hijacker continued and he soon allowed most of the 60 people on board off the Airbus A320. It is believed only the crew and four foreign nationals remained on board. Information from Egyptian airport sources suggest eight Britons and 10 American were initially on the flight. Egyptian state media claimed Samaha demanded political asylum. It was also claimed he has demanded to see his ex-wife who is a Cypriot woman. It was suggested once he has been reunited with his ex-wife he has promised to end the siege.
