4 crew, 3 passengers still on board hijacked EgyptAir plane—minister

A bus carrying some passengers from a hijacked EgyptAir aircraft drives by the plane at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus Tuesday, March 29, 2016. The EgyptAir plane was hijacked on Tuesday while flying from the Egyptian Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria to the capital, Cairo, and later landed in Cyprus where some of the women and children were allowed to get off the aircraft, according to Egyptian and Cypriot officials. AP

Everyone on board a hijacked EgyptAir flight diverted to Cyrus on Tuesday has been released except for four crew members and three passengers, Egypt’s civil aviation minister said.

Sherif Fathy told a press conference that the captain, a co-pilot, an air hostess and a security man remained on board, along with the three passengers.

READ: Egyptian plane hijacked, taken to Cyprus; passengers released

He said there had been 55 passengers on board the plane, which was headed from Alexandria to Cairo, when the hijacker demanded it land in either Turkey or Cyprus.

The aviation ministry had earlier said 81 people were on board.

“He had no gun or anything. We don’t know yet whether his (explosives) belt is real but for the safety of passengers we are dealing with it as real,” he said.

READ: Egyptian plane hijacking not linked to terrorism—Cyprus president

A plane will head to Larnaca at 1030 GMT (6:30 p.m. Manila time) to pick up the released passengers, he said.