Security guards killed two men who attempted to hijack a passenger plane while in flight Sunday, according to the Ethiopian News Agency.
The Ethiopian Airlines plane landed safely after the incident. It had been flying from the northern town of Bahir Dar to Addis Ababa with 42 passengers.
State television reported the men were armed with knives. The airline routinely carries security guards on its flights.
No passengers were harmed during the incident, although one of the crew sustained a minor injury, ENA reported.
“An immediate action was taken against the two individuals who tried to hijack the Fokker-50 passenger plane at around 5:15 p.m. local time,” said Security Chief Girmatsion Habte.
In 2001, five hijackers diverted an Ethiopian domestic flight to neighboring Sudan, threatening to blow up the aircraft with a hand grenade. The passengers were unharmed as the hijackers surrendered in Khartoum.
