Hijack attempt foiled

25/04/11 02:53 CET

world news

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A man armed with what appeared to be a small knife tried to hijack a Paris-Rome flight overnight and take it to Libya.

Officials in Italy say the man assaulted a flight attendant and demanded the plane divert to Tripoli.

However he was overcome by crew and passengers on flight AZ329 while the captain radioed ahead to police who arrested a suspect when the Alitalia plane landed safely in Rome.

The flight attendant suffered minor injuries according to reports and was treated at a first aid station at Rome airport. It appears there were no other injuries.

Some reports suggest the man may have been of Kazakh origin.

More about: Alitalia, France, Italy, Libya

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