20000101

All hijack passengers freed

KANDAHAR: All passengers on a hijacked Indian Airlines plane were freed on Friday and would be returned to India later in evening, Indian officials said.

They were allowed to leave the aircraft shortly after five hijackers descended a cockpit ladder and were driven out of the airport where the aircraft has been grounded for a week. No official count of the number of passengers was immediately available. It was thought to be 155 or 156, depending on the number of hijackers.

They seized the plane on a short flight from Nepal to India one week ago and were freed under a deal which secured the hostages' liberty in exchange for that of three freedom fighters held in Indian jails.

It was not immediately clear what happened to the mujahideen, who had arrived in an aircraft carrying Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh from India.-Reuters