FRANCE: PASSENGERS ON THE FRENCH AIRLINER HIJACKED IN ALGIERS SPEAK OF THEIR ORDEAL
Record ID:
574554
FRANCE: PASSENGERS ON THE FRENCH AIRLINER HIJACKED IN ALGIERS SPEAK OF THEIR ORDEAL
- Title: FRANCE: PASSENGERS ON THE FRENCH AIRLINER HIJACKED IN ALGIERS SPEAK OF THEIR ORDEAL
- Date: 27th December 1994
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (DECEMBER 27, 1994) (REUTERS TELEVISION - ACCESS ALL) 1. GV RUNWAY (NIGHT SHOTS) 0.04 2. SV/PAN/GV PEOPLE INSIDE TERMINAL WAITING FOR RETURNING PASSENGERS/SV PLANE/BEING GUIDED/RELATIVES WAITING OUTSIDE TERMINAL (8 SHOTS) 0.55 3. SLV/SV CRANES PASSENGERS WALKING DOWN STEPS OF AIRCRAFT AND BEING GREETED BY OFFICIALS (4 SHOTS) 1.45 4. SV PASSENGERS BEING GREETED IN TERMINAL BY FRIENDS AND RELATIVES AND APPLAUDED AS THEY WALK THROUGH DOOR (5 SHOTS) 2.34 5. SV FRENCH DEFENCE MINISTER FRANCOIS LEOTARD AND PLANE'S CHIEF PILOT BERNARD DHELLEMME WALKING PAST WAITING PEOPLE 2.42 6. SV WOMAN SAYS SHE THANKS THE POLICE (FRENCH) 2.48 7. MCU MAN SPEAKING ABOUT HIJACKERS (FRENCH) 3.19 8. SV MAN IN CREAM SUIT TALKING ABOUT HIJACK SAYING OF COURSE HE WAS SCARED (FRENCH) 3.29 9. GV PASSENGERS WALKING INTO TERMINAL 3.37 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
- Embargoed: 11th January 1995 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- City:
- Country: France
- Reuters ID: LVA2JMCOHNJBP8TZK6ZEBPOQIAFI
- Story Text: Passengers on the French airliner hijacked in Algiers spoke on Tuesday (December 27) morning of their ordeal during the drama.
The four hijackers, who had demanded to fly to Paris, were killed when police stormed the plane at Marseille airport on Monday, saving the lives of some 170 hostages on board.
About 60 passengers arrived in the early hours of Tuesday morning at Orly airport in Paris, the original destination of the hijacked Air France plane, to an emotional reunion with tearful relatives.
The plane was seized on Saturday in Algiers. By the time it was allowed to take off on Monday morning it had used up fuel to maintain its power supply and could only reach Marseille.
Relatives and friends tearfully embraced the passengers who had been on board during the 54-hour ordeal and gave a warm welcome to some 40 members of the elite anti-terrorist squad who stormed the plane.
Nine gendarmes were wounded, 13 passengers suffered bruises and three crew members were injured in the storming.
A number of passengers said they saw almost nothing of the final attack as they were crouched on the floor.
The plane's chief pilot, Bernard Dhellemme, hurried past reporters with French Defence Minister Francois Leotard and Air France chairman Christian Blanc who had joined the flight from Marseille.
The second pilot, Jean-Paul Borderie, broke his leg as he jumped eight metres (26 ft) from the cockpit onto the tarmac.
The passengers on the hijacked plane included a number of women and children.
Few of the former hostages were willing to talk at length about their ordeal. One Algerian man in his 50s would only say: "It was very hard, very hard".
Another Algerian passenger said that while he had been afraid, the ordeal had not been too uncomfortable.
"The crew did everything they could for us," he said. "We ate, we got drinks. We had everything we needed."
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