Soviet airliner hijacked

Press, 26 December 1985, Page 6

Soviet airliner hijacked

NZPA-Reuter Peking A Soviet airliner was hijacked to northern China but the crew and passengers were later freed, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said

yesterday. The incident had happened on Saturday and the Antonov 24 civilian aircraft had put down in the western part of Heilongjiang, China’s northern-most province, a spokesman said. He declined further details, but said all the pas-

sengers had been returned to the Soviet Union. East European sources said that the Antonov airliner had landed at Hailar, 80km from the Soviet

border. Earlier yesterday, the Associated Press said that the plane was on its way from Siberia to Korea and had been flown to Peking pending settlement of the incident. Chinese and East European sources reported that

the airliner had carried 50 people. From the start of the affair Chinese and Soviet officials declined comment on the passengers’ fate, identity of the hijackers, location of the plane or other details.

A city government official in Hailar said, that the Antonov had been, hijacked on its way from the Siberian city of Chita to Korea. The Hailar official con-

firmed that the plane had been hijacked and said it had force-landed when it ran out of fuel. The case was the first known instance of a foreign hijacked aircraft putting down in China. Sources said that China had appeared to be keeping the hijack a secret to avoid causing the Soviet Union a loss of face when relations between the Communist giants are gradually warming '