- Title: THAILAND: Philippine Hijackers Fly Out Of Bangkok Bound For Karachi.
- Date: 13th April 1976
- Summary: 1. GV Bangkok International Airport 4 ft 2. GV of PAL aircraft grounded 6 ft 3. SV crowd watching aircraft 7 ft 4. SV DC-8 taxing across tarmac 13 ft 5. SV control tower 14 ft 6. LV pan from DC-8 to BAC-111 18 ft 7. LV two vans approaching DC-8 20 ft 8. SCU cameraman watching aircraft 21 ft 9. LV pan BAC-111 to DC-8 32 ft 10. SCU cameramen watching aircraft 33 ft 11. LV DC-8 taking off from Bangkok airport 53 ft Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 28th April 1976 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Bangkok, Thailand
- Country: Thailand
- Reuters ID: LVA7RGPJBK5PVJL43J819SIOMQ49
- Story Text: Three Philippine hijackers flew out of Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday, (12 April) bound for Karachi, Pakistan.
The hijackers took with them three hostages and eight crew members of a Philippines Airlines (PAL) DC-8.
The flight out of Bangkok came five days after the hijackers commandeered a BAC-111 jetliner in the southern Philippines.
In a tense operation at Don Muang airport, Bangkok, the hijackers transferred three hostages to a FAL DC-8 airliner. They also took with them the 300,000 dollar (156,250 sterling) ransom they had received in Manila for the release of 70 passengers on board the original hijacked plane. Under an agreement with Thai government officials, the hijackers released the crew of the BAC-111 and handed over guns, grenades and a bag of explosives before boarding the DC-8.
The hijackers claim they are members of the Moro National liberation Front, a Moslem group seeking a separate Moslem state in the southern Philippines. However, the Philippine government has said the hijackers are "wanted criminals, all with records."
The agreed exchange of weapons and hostages for a long range aircraft out of Bangkok nearly floundered when the hijackers demanded that they keep the explosives and hostages.
But the Thai government insisted that the terms of the original agreement be kept and after tense negotiations the gunmen backed down. However they did retain two pistols instead of only one that the government had insisted upon.
The have stated that they intend to fly to Benghazi, Libya. On Monday night (12 April) the DC-8 was at Karachi airport.
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