MOSCOW: Russian authorities said on Tuesday that a passenger plane bound for Moscow has been forced to land shortly after take-off in a suspected hijacking.
The National Anti-Terrorism Committee said an unnamed man on the flight, bound from the Siberian city of Surgut to Moscow, ordered the crew to divert the plane to Afghanistan. The plane landed in the city of Khanty-Mansiysk about 230 kilometers to the west.
Committee spokesman Andrew Przhezdomsky told state-owned Rossiya 24 television channel that the plane stands on the runway in Khanty-Mansiysk and that the passenger is still onboard.
Aeroflot flight #SU1515 from Surgut to Moscow is diverting to Khanty-Mansiysk with squawk 7600 (radio failure).
According to @RT_russian a passenger demanded the aircraft to fly to Afghanistan.https://t.co/lO2rs9X4Dr pic.twitter.com/9NFRQh8C5y
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) January 22, 2019
It was not immediately clear if the man was armed and what his demands were. Police has cordoned off the area, and ambulances are on the standby.
