Authorities in Cyprus have arrested the man who hijacked an EgyptAir flight after television pictures showed some of those still on board escaping from the aircraft.
The Cyprus ministry of foreign affairs confirmed in a tweet that the hijacking was over. Nikos Christodoulides, the Cypriot government spokesman, followed up with a second tweet confirming everyone on board was safe. The official tweets followed activity involving security forces around the aircraft at Larnaca airport.
The stand-off lasted for several hours after the Airbus A320 aircraft landed on the island. The crew had been forced to divert it from a scheduled Egyptian domestic flight between Alexandria and Cairo. There were at least 55 passengers on board but most of them were released by the hijacker shortly after landing.