‘Will Kill Us’ If Demands Not Met--Hostage

A hostage aboard a hijacked Kuwaiti jumbo jet carrying about 40 people, including three members of Kuwait’s Royal Family, today said the gunmen “will kill us all” unless their demands are met.

The hijackers have killed two hostages since the ordeal began 10 days ago.

Negotiations to free the hostages aboard the Kuwait Airways Boeing 747 were suspended today.

An Algerian doctor was allowed aboard, however, to examine 10 to 17 passengers who felt sick. He said that although their hands were tied “there was absolutely no sign of torture” and that from a medical point of view they were “not in a bad way.”

Release of 17 Demanded

The hijackers, who seized the plane on April 5 en route from Bangkok, Thailand, to Kuwait, have demanded the release of 17 Arab militants jailed in Kuwait for a series of bomb attacks in 1983. Kuwait has steadfastly refused to meet the demand.

The hijackers’ death threat was delivered by hostage Ahmed Zayed of Kuwait.

“My name is Ahmed Zayed,” the passenger said over the radio to the control tower. “Hello. Hello to my family. I am in good health. I ask the (Kuwait) government to release the 17 Islamic Jihad prisoners. If not, they will kill us all.”

The hijackers, who freed 57 passengers on a stop in Iran last week, killed one Kuwaiti hostage in Cyprus on Saturday and another Monday. On Wednesday they released 12 more hostages in exchange for fuel and flew to Algiers.

Negotiations Suspended

The call came after the official Algerian news agency APS reported that talks between Algerian negotiators and the hijackers had been suspended. It did not say why the talks were broken off.

The talks had reached an impasse on Wednesday. A ranking Algerian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Wednesday that Kuwait’s “intransigence” had created the standstill.

Before the death warning was communicated, an Algerian intermediary boarded the plane and talked for about half an hour with the hijackers.

“Following this discussion, the hijackers agreed to allow a maintenance crew to board the aircraft as well as permitting food to be taken on board,” APS said.

The hijackers also allowed the plane to be moved about a half a mile to avoid embarrassing Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, who flew to Algiers on a previously scheduled visit.