An Indian Airlines Flight carrying 185 people on board including a crew of 11 was hijacked shortly after take-off from Kathmandu, Nepal, on its way to New Delhi, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported on December 24.

The whereabouts of the hijacked flight, IC-814, were not immediately known, but some reports said the hijackers wanted the aircraft to go to neighboring Pakistan.

A PTI correspondent reported from Islamabad that the Pakistani authorities refused to allow the hijacked plane to land at the Lahore airport Friday evening.

The plane, an Airbus-300, took off from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu at 16:25 hours local time and was hijacked shortly after 17:00 hours (12:30 GMT) Friday on its way to New Delhi, PTI said.

An official manning the crisis control room at the Lahore airport told PTI over telephone that the hijackers asked for " permission to land but we have refused."

Another official at the Lahore airport said the plane was still in Indian airspace.

However, the identity of the hijackers, said to be armed, or their number could not be ascertained immediately.

Sources from the Indian Airlines said that the airport authorities have put major airports near the Pakistan border at Chandigarh, Jammu and Amritsar on alert following the hijack.

Civil, police and other airport authorities have been directed to keep emergency arrangements in preparedness, PTI said.