2 Czech Teens Shoot Their Way Aboard Plane, Hijack It to West

Two Czechoslovakian teen-agers who wanted to go to the United States shot their way aboard a Hungarian airliner in Prague and forced it to fly to the West, officials and media reports said.

But they freed their hostages--including a Hungarian diplomat--and surrendered after landing here when U.S. military authorities blocked the plane from entering the adjoining Rhein-Main Air Base, officials said.

No Injuries

No injuries were reported among the 10 passengers and at least four crew members aboard the hijacked Hungarian plane when it reached Frankfurt, officials said.

The hijackers had released 82 passengers at Prague airport after speaking with Lajos Taba, the Hungarian consul-general, the Hungarian news agency MTI said. It said Taba traded himself for the passengers and was among those freed in Frankfurt.

The youths--aged 15 and 16--surrendered less than three hours after seizing the Soviet-made Tupolev-154 owned by Hungary’s Malev Airlines.

The hijackers, who were armed with a sawed-off shotgun and a rifle and carried a fake hand grenade, gave up at Frankfurt Airport when U.S. officials prevented the plane from taxiing onto the adjoining U.S. military base.

A witness said the youths stormed into a Prague airport lounge located near boarding gates and started shooting before commandeering the plane.

No one was hit by the gunfire but a policeman fell to the ground, the witness said.

The two youths were being questioned by police.