Peru Police Kill Hijacker on Jetliner
Police dressed as baggage handlers Monday shot to death a hijacker aboard a jetliner at Lima’s airport, authorities said. Fifty people were on board the plane at the time.
Two passengers were injured by gunfire in the shoot-out. News reports said it was unclear if the shots were fired by the hijacker or police.
The hijacker, carrying a pistol and eight grenades, seized the Faucett Airlines DC-8 with 125 people aboard in the northern coastal city of Trujillo at about 5 p.m. He ordered the plane flown to Lima, about 300 miles south, radio reports said. The flight took about an hour.
The hijacker, whom police identified as Jose Mattza Diaz, 23, later released about 75 passengers in two groups before the incident ended, police said.
Radio reports quoted released passengers as saying the kidnaper had demanded $125,000 in ransom and that the jet be refueled in Lima to fly to an undisclosed destination.
Police surrounded the airliner, and the shooting took place at about 9 p.m. A police spokesman said the gunman suffered five bullet wounds.
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