Ethiopian plane forced to Geneva; hijacker nabbed

A photo taken with a cell phone on Feb. 17, in
Geneva shows an Ethiopian Airlines flight en
route to Rome which was hijacked and forced
to land in Geneva.

GENEVA (AP) — An Ethiopian Airlines plane
destined for Rome was forced to land early
Monday in Geneva, where the hijacker was
arrested, authorities said.
The airline said one of its planes had been
"forced to proceed to Geneva." Its website
said the flight landed safely and "all
passengers and crew are safe." It gave no
further details.
Swiss police said the plane made an
unscheduled landing in the Swiss city at 6
a.m. (0500 GMT) and the hijacker was
arrested. Police spokesman Jean-Philippe
Brandt told The Associated Press that "the
situation is under control" and nobody on the
flight was injured.
Further details of the incident were to be
released at a news conference in Geneva at 9
a.m. (0800 GMT).
Cairo airport officials said the pilot of the
plane, flight 702, informed the control tower at
Abu Simbel in southern Egypt that his plane
had been hijacked. The pilot did not ask to
land in Egypt, and the plane headed for Libyan
airspace, they said. The officials spoke on
condition of anonymity because they are not
authorized to brief the media.
Geneva airport said departures would resume
at 8.15 a.m. (0715 GMT) and arrivals at 8.45
a.m. (0745 GMT).