By RIA Novosti
Ankara: Most of the 136 passengers on a Turkish airliner flying from Northern Cyprus to Istanbul that was hijacked and forced to make an emergency landing in the resort town of Antalya have managed to escape, Turkish media has reported.
Both pilots also jumped clear, and only the hijackers, two stewardesses and three passengers remain on board. The plane has been surrounded by police, who are preparing to storm it should negotiations fail.
The airplane, operated by Atlas-Jet, was seized early Saturday by two hijackers, later confirmed as being Iranian, who demanded to be flown to Tehran. The flight landed in Antalya at 8:05 a.m. local time (9:05 a.m. Moscow time) to refuel, and was immediately surrounded by police.
According to Turkish television, passengers succeeded in opening a rear door and jumping out onto the tarmac, several injuring themselves in the process.
One passenger who escaped reported the hijackers claimed they were members of al-Qaeda, although others said they did not identify themselves.
The jet was seized shortly after takeoff from Ercan airport on Northern Cyprus, with one of the hijackers claiming to have a bomb and threatening to blow the airplane up.
However, they were reportedly unable to break down the pilot cabin door.