Grim reminder of bloodiest hijack

Press, 27 November 1986, Page 5

Grim reminder of bloodiest hijack

By

JOE SCICLUNA

of Reuters

Valetta The burnt-out Egypt Air Boeing 737 stands forlornly on the airport tarmac, a grim reminder of the world’s bloodiest aircraft hijack one year ago. Just a few kilometres away, a Palestinian named as the sole surviving hijacker sits in a jail cell awaiting trial. The hijack ended with 60 dead on that fateful day — November 24, 1985 — after Egyptian commandos stormed the airliner to stop the coldblooded murder of passengers. It was the worst hijack tragedy in aviation history. Most of the victims suffocated from smoke after rescue commandos blew a hole in the plane to get aboard and the hijackers detonated grenades that started a fire. Malta has insisted on bringing the alleged hijacker to justice, refusing an extradition request from Egypt. His trial, expected to start early next year, is likely to rekindle debate

on whether the Maltese authorities dealt properly with the hijack and whether Egypt bungled the rescue attempt. The Egyptians stormed the plane without waiting for sophisticated United States equipment being flown to Malta. The accused hijacker, named as Lebanese-born Omar Mohammed Ali Rezaq, aged 22, has already appeared before closeddoor preliminary hearings and pleaded not guilty to 16 charges, including the murder of two women passengers. He could be jailed for life if convicted. Two hijackers were shot dead when the commandos went into action. Authorities say their identity remains a mystery. Malta has not disclosed whether the gunmen were linked to any Middle East guerrilla group. The hijackers asked for Libya’s Ambassador in Malta to be brought to the airport when the plane first landed. He took part in negotiations but refused to go aboard. The Boeing, carrying 91 passengers and six crew,

was on a flight from Athens to Cairo when three men with guns and grenades commandeered it over the Mediterranean. Malta initially refused the plane permission to land at its only airport, Luqa, but relented when the pilot radioed he was running out of fuel and would have to ditch in the sea. The hijackers made only one demand — additional fuel. They did not say where they planned to take the plane. Malta insisted that the hijackers first release all the passengers, but the gunmen rejected this. Instead, they began shooting the passengers, selecting five Israelis and Americans at intervals and dumping their bodies on the tarmac. Egypt sent in a Hercules military plane with a team of specially trained commandos. When negotiations broke down, they were deployed in place of Malta’s small and inexperienced army. The troops stormed the plane under cover of darkness, blowing a hole

in the aft cargo hold. The hijackers tossed three grenades among the passengers and fire swept through the plane as a shootout raged between the commandos and the gunmen. There was an outcry over the heavy death toll. Greece, with 12 nationals among the dead, called the storming of the plane premature. It said Athens should have been consulted about the illfated rescue attempt. Critics said the authorities should have persevered with negotiations and the commandos waited longer until the hijackers grew tired. The plane was stormed about 8.10 p.m., some 22 hours after it touched down at Luqa. Malta recently scotched any suggestion that it was seeking a soft option in dealing with the alleged hijacker. It fell in step with its European neighbours as the last country to sign the Council of Europe’s 1977 code for suppression of terrorism.