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Talks with Russian Airliner Hijackers Continuing
Talks with hijackers of a Russian Tu-154 passenger airliner are continuing, the Interfax news agency quoted a senior Russian diplomat in Saudi Arab as saying on Friday.
According to information available to the Russian Embassy in Saudi Arab, where the plane is now located, 47 hostages, including 24 Russian citizens and three children, have been released so far, said the embassy's councilor Igor Kremnyov.
Five released hostages, including a wounded steward, were sent to hospital and one of them was in danger, Kremnyov said.
A spokesman for the Moscow Vnukovo Airlines said Friday that the hijacked plane belonging to the company has been fully fueled at the request of the hijackers.
Earlier, a Qatari satellite television channel reported that the hijackers had demanded refueling "for a long flight."
The Russian Tu-154 airliner with 166 passengers on board was hijacked at about 2:00 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) Thursday, half an hour after taking off from Istanbul, Turkey.
The terrorists, reportedly four persons headed by Chechen former Interior Minister Aslambek Arsayev, demanded the Russian government stop anti-terrorist operations in Chechnya.
Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) spokesman Andrei Laryushin said on Friday that a FSB crisis center had been set up and had been in close contact with Saudi Arabia's authorities.
"All forces and means of FSB are still involved in full for freeing the hostages," he said.
The hijackers stopped talks with authorities for three hours last night, when the administration of Medina airport demanded the release of all hostages in exchange for guaranteed freedom of the terrorists. The talks resumed early Friday.
Reports from Medina airport said security forces surrounded the plane, but made no attempt to storm it.
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