A knife-wielding U.S. citizen was shot dead mid-air by an armed co-passenger after he attempted to hijack a Tropic Air plane in Belize on Thursday, media reports said.
A state of emergency was declared at the Philip SW Goldson International Airport after Akinyela Sawa Taylor, 49, began attacking people inside the San Pedro-bound flight at 8:30 a.m., the New York Post reported.
According to reports, the hijacker slashed several people on the flight before he was shot dead by a fellow passenger.
During the incident, the Cessna Caravan V3HIG was circling the airport in random directions before landing at the airport at 10:12 a.m., officials told The New York Post.
There were rising concerns since the aircraft was running out of fuel when it was circling above the airport.
After the aircraft landed, police and security personnel rushed to the spot to help the victims.
‘Hero’
Belize’s Commissioner of Police Chester Williams touted the passenger who shot Taylor as a “hero”, the newspaper reported.
According to reports, the flight was carrying 14 passengers, which included two Americans.
Two crew members were present on the flight.
Police said it remained unclear how the hijacker was able to carry the knife on the flight.
The US Embassy in Belize has been contacted to investigate the case.
Tropic Air Reacts
In a statement on Thursday, Tropic Air Belize CEO Maximillian Greif called the pilot’s actions “nothing short of heroic” and said it is offering “all available support” to the injured passengers.
“Our pilots undergo rigorous training to respond effectively and efficiently to any situation, and today we pause to recognise the bravery, skill and leadership that brought our aircraft home safely,” Greif was quoted as saying by ABC News.
US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce was quoted as saying by ABC News: “We are grateful — I think all of us are — that that did not turn into a mass casualty event with, I believe, over a dozen people on the plane.”
(With inputs from IBNS)
