男子劫機欲攪亂冬奧會 計劃泡湯反被逮捕

A Ukrainian man tried to hijack a Turkey-bound flight to Sochi, Russia, as the Winter Olympics were kicking off Friday, but the pilot tricked him and landed in Istanbul instead, where he was stealthily detained after a four-hour stand-off on a plane full of passengers, an official said.

The hijacking drama came as the Winter Olympics opened in the Russian resort city, with thousands of athletes from around the world pouring into the tightly secured stadium amid warnings the Games could be a terrorism target.

A Turkish F-16 fighter was scrambled as soon as the pilot on the Pegasus Airlines flight from Kharkiv, Ukraine, with 110 passengers aboard signaled there was a hijacking attempt, according to NTV television. It escorted the plane safely to its original destination at Sabiha Gokcen airport in Istanbul.

Officials credited the pilot and crew for convincing the 45-year-old-man, who claimed he had a bomb, that they were following his wishes.

"Through a very successful implementation by our pilot and crew, the plane was landed in Istanbul instead of Sochi," Istanbul governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu told reporters at the airport. "He thought it was going to Sochi but after a while he realized that (the plane) was in Istanbul."

He said the suspected hijacker was arrested after a stand-off during which a negotiator convinced him to first allow women and children to be evacuated and later agreed to let all other passengers off the plane as well.

"Our security units sneaked through various entrances during the evacuation of the passengers and with a quick and effective intervention the hijacker was subdued," Mutlu said. No bomb was found, he said.

The man's motive was unclear, but Mutlu said he had "requests concerning his own country" and wanted to relay a "message concerning sporting activities in Sochi." Mutlu said there was no immediate indication that the man was a member of any terror organization and Mutlu did not give his name.

"We were receiving through various channels information that there could be initiatives to sabotage the spirit of peace arising in Sochi, but we are saddened that such an event took place in our city," Mutlu said.

The governor said the man was being held at Istanbul police headquarters. The man was slightly injured during the struggle when he was detained, but no weapons were used, he said. The private Dogan news agency said later that the man was taken to a hospital for his injuries. Private NTV television identified the man as Artem Hozlov.

The Interfax news agency cited the Ukrainian Security Service, the country's main security agency, as saying the passenger was in a state of severe alcohol intoxication. Mutlu said the man was not drunk, but said he may have taken substances to help him remain alert. He did not elaborate.

Habib Soluk, the Turkish Transport Ministry undersecretary, told NTV earlier that the man rose from his seat, shouted that there was bomb on board and tried to enter the locked cockpit. The pilot signaled that there was a hijack attempt and the airport was placed on high alert.

Air traffic at Sabiha Gokcen was halted throughout the incident but had returned to normal after the man's arrest.

Mehmet Tutan, one of the passengers, told reporters at Sabiha Gokcen that people on board also believed they had landed in Sochi but realized the plane was in Turkey after switching on their mobile phones.

"We thought we had landed in Sochi. We thought so for a long time," Tutan said. "Then we saw that there was a (Turkish) network on our mobile phone, that we were able to call outside, and that there was no roaming, we understood that we weren't in Sochi."

The plane landed at about 6 p.m. Turkish time, just as the opening ceremony for the Olympics was about to begin. The executive creative director of the Olympics opening ceremony told reporters afterward he heard of the threat but didn't alter the show's plans in any way.

"We had so much adrenaline in our veins that we could not grasp much," Konstantin Ernst said through an interpreter.

With about 100,000 police, security agents and army troops flooding Sochi, Russia has pledged to ensure "the safest Olympics in history." But terror fears fueled by recent suicide bombings have left athletes, spectators and officials worldwide jittery about potential threats.

"It would be wrong to make any comment before all the facts are known but any security questions are of course a matter for the authorities," International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said.

Security experts warn that Islamic militants in the Caucasus, who have threatened to derail the Winter Games that run from Feb. 7-23, could achieve their goal by choosing soft targets away from the Olympic sites or even outside Sochi.

Olympic organizers introduced blanket screening of all visitors, requiring them to share passport details to get a Winter Games spectator pass. Officials also cut access to vehicles lacking Sochi registration or a special pass, and guards were searching all train commuters.據《華盛頓郵報》報道，俄羅斯索契冬奧會2月7日開幕之際，一名烏克蘭男子試圖劫持一架土耳其客機飛往索契，給冬奧會“傳遞信息”。機組人員機智應對，土耳其還派出F-16戰機支援，劫機者最終未能得逞，已被逮捕，機上乘客安全撤離，奧運開幕式未受影響。

涉案飛機隸屬於土耳其飛馬航空公司，從烏克蘭哈爾科夫飛往土耳其伊斯坦布爾，共載有110名乘客。飛行途中，一名45歲的烏克蘭男子起身大叫飛機上有炸彈，甚至試圖闖進上了鎖的駕駛艙。飛行員隨即發出信號，稱有人劫機；土耳其緊急派遣一架F-16戰鬥機前往支援。

劫機者要求改道飛往索契，機組人員“陽奉陰違”，直到飛機在伊斯坦布爾撒比哈庫肯機場降落，劫機者才發現上了當。伊斯坦布爾省長侯賽因•阿夫尼•穆特魯說：“通過飛行員和乘務員的成功行動，飛機降落在伊斯坦布爾，而不是索契。他以爲是飛往索契，後來卻發現身在伊斯坦布爾。”

飛機降落後，劫機者挾持乘客作爲人質和土耳其警方對峙。經過談判，他同意放走婦女和兒童。穆特魯說：“就在疏散過程中，安保人員從多個入口潛入飛機，迅速有效地制伏劫機者。”他表示，這名烏克蘭男子因爲國內事務而劫機，並且要“給索契的體育盛會傳遞信息”。不過，其具體動機還不明朗，也沒有任何證據表明他和恐怖組織有牽連。

劫機者被捕時受了傷，先是關在警察局，後被送往醫院接受治療。另外，穆特魯還表示，劫機男子當時沒有喝醉，但可能服用了藥物以保持警惕。

客機在伊斯坦布爾降落後十多分鐘，冬奧會就在索契開幕。開幕式執行創意總監康斯坦丁•恩斯特說他知道劫機一事，但沒有因此改變演出計劃。國際奧委會發言人馬克•亞當斯則拒絕在弄清事實之前發表評論。