TEHRAN An Ariatour Passenger Plane, Flight 1492, was hijacked while on flight from Ahvaz to Bandar Abbas at 10:30 a.m. yesterday. The Russian-made Yak-42, with 39 passengers and seven crew members on board, was hijacked by 12 hijackers.
Through a ploy used by the plane's pilot, the plane safely landed in Bandar Abbas. The hijackers realized they had landed in Bandar Abbas when the pilot said the plane did not have enough fuel and he has to land for refueling. When the hijackers realized they were misguided they attacked flight attendants, fatally shooting one in the head. Passengers who were helping crews became a target of attacks by the hijackers. As a result, five passengers were seriously injured. When the injured passengers were being removed from the plane, the pilot, copilot and engineer escaped through the front door of the plane.
At this time the hijackers killed another crew member with a shot in the head. When the pilot and copilot had left the plane, they could not take the plane to their desired destination, and clashes occurred between the hijackers and security guards. The hijackers were arrested by the security forces. This is the first hijacking of this kind when 12 people were involved in hijacking a small plane. The total time of the hijacking incident was five hours. The identity and motive of the hijackers are not yet known.
Observers believe that the hijacking drama is related to the OIC Summit taking place in Doha, Qatar, where Iran invited all Muslim countries to sever relations with Israel. This is the second plane hijacking this week; the first plane was hijacked from Chechnya to Israel.