Cyprus Foreign Ministry: No official confirmation about motive of hijacker

The Cypriot Foreign Ministry said there was no official confirmation about the motive of the hijacker of the EgyptAir flight, Cyprus Mail reported Tuesday.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Alexandros Zenon said that, apart from the passengers and the crew, there were also Egyptair officials on board traveling to Alexandria for a connection flight to another destination.

“We are in contact with the Egyptian authorities. The Ambassador of Egypt is with us and we are handling this incident together,” Zenon said.

He added that the plane requested to land at Larnaca Airport saying it was low on fuel.

“We gave our consent because there were about 70 persons on board the aircraft. It landed at Larnaca Airport in an isolated area, under the supervision of the security authorities. Immediately the crises management team was mobilzed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where the Ministers of the Interior, Defense, Transport, and Justice gathered, with other competent officials, and the team is handling the situation,” he said.

Larnaca airport remains closed. Three coming flights have been diverted to Paphos already, airport authorities said. Another four are expected to land there soon, the paper said.

Source: MENA