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Hijacked EgyptAir Plane Lands In Cyprus

by Melissah Yang

According to officials, a hijacked EgyptAir plane carrying more than 80 passengers landed in Cyprus Tuesday morning, and a bomb was suspected to be on board. Flight MS181, which was flying from Alexandria to Cairo, landed at Larnaca airport on the Mediterranean island, roughly 250 miles north from Egypt's coast.

Update: The hijack situation is over. The hijacker is in custody, and everybody on board the plane is safe.

In a statement released via Twitter, EgyptAir said the plane was carrying 81 passengers when the pilot notified officials of a person wearing a suicide belt, which forced the plane to land in Cyprus. At least one man was believed to be armed, according to Reuters. It was not immediately clear whether more people were involved, or who was behind the hijacking of the Airbus A320.

Security has been a big issue for Egypt, particularly in the last several months. In February, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi publicly acknowledged for the first time that the downing of a Russian plane last October was a terror attack. But el-Sisi also insisted that the country was safe for travel and tourists. All 224 people onboard Metrojet Flight 9268 died after the jet crashed into the Sinai peninsula. ISIS claimed responsibility for that crash.