Hijacker Took Liking to Swiss Boy, 2
A Swiss woman who was a passenger on the hijacked cruise ship Achille Lauro said the pirates thought she was an Israeli and threatened to kill her but made her 2-year-old son their favorite, the Blick am Sonntag newspaper reported Sunday.
Esther Andrist, 29, told the newspaper that one of the pirates held a pistol to her head in the belief that she was an Israeli.
“I died a thousand deaths in fear,” the woman said. “But then he wanted to play with my son and carry him around, only that didn’t work because Oliver wanted to stay with me.
“The man kept coming back, stroking the little boy’s hair and saying, ‘Baby good,’ ” Andrist said.
“The Palestinian at one point got on his knees and showed his machine gun to Oliver, putting his tiny finger on the trigger. Then he gave Oliver a bullet as a souvenir.
“When we were leaving the ship, the same hijacker even wanted to give Oliver a hand grenade, but we didn’t accept it,” Andrist said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
