Plane hijack vigil like a jigsaw for observers

Press, 13 April 1988, Page 10

Plane hijack vigil like a jigsaw for observers

B

KATE DOURIAN

of Reuters (through NZPA)

:: ' ;■ H Larnacai The hijacker’s voice came across the crackle of the* Kuwaiti airliner’s radio asking for Malox, a brand of medicine. ; .1 i!) 1 ) I . , . . ! i|i . | The request signalled I that one of the estimated 44 hostages aboard the Boeing 747 had an upset stomach.; No wonder, as [their supper was bread, cake and cola after a breakfast of cheese. An air-conditioning malfunction sent the temperature in the plane sparing to 35deg. adding discomfort toi terror after two hostages had been killed and others beaten, I j. H| | ; | Titbits of information send the nearly 200 journalists maintaining a 24-hour vigil at Larnaca Airport into)a flurry of activity as they try to piece together a picture! of the hijack drama. I | A brand of medicine, a crumb of bread, a masked head peering from! the aircraft’s fiont door, a yellow escape chute thrown on t;o the tarmac, or a flashing red landing light that suddenly stops blinking. All are parts bf the bliirred picture being constructed eight days after Arabic-speaking gunmen seized the plane on a flight from Bangkok to Kuwait. Journalists constantly monitor radio traffic between the airport control !tower and the hijackers and watch the plane thrdiigh binoculars from the airport’s roof. I The moment' the! hijackers make a request, such as the call for medicine, the tower relays its answer and the precise [details of how the package will be delivered, the number of people who will; approach the aircraft and thie type of vehicle to be used. I The distance lof [ the mobile stairway to the aircraft is negotiated to the exact ipch. The process can last up to an hour. One more piece in the puzzle, i |[ H The landing lights flash Constantly, , warning any ground staff who | might stray into the path of the hijacked plane an<( its armed captors. Ili J j| I The hijackers were clearly nervous when the ground lights were suddenly switched off late on Monday night, blacking out the surroiinding terrain, and! demanded that engineers looked into the matter immediately. I i A main concern [over; the last two days has been I a malfunction iri the air conditioning unit j under thle plane, which the hijackers at one point complained was spewing exhaubt fumes I into the cabin.; j- I; ; I There were complaints of stifling heat. | Generator trucks maide four separate trips to the plane — then Ithere was silence. The dialogue is I relaxed and serves, to relieve the tension that reached a ! climax with the killing ofla second Arab passenger)on Monday. | '[ The hijackers, believed to number eight, have threatened to kill more hostages if the plane is not refuelled. Cypriot authorities have refused to provide fuel unless the hijackers release all the’ hostages. |l