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DAMACUS, Wednesday (AAP): The Lufthansa airliner hijacked from Ronfie Airport
on Monday landed here from Athens yesterday.
The plane left Athens Airport bound for Cairo yesterday after
the hijackers failed to talk the Greek Government into releasing two
Palestinian terrorists arrested in August. .
The hijackers took most of their; hostages vith them/ but allowed a
wounded policeman to disembark. ' .. J
They "also left behind
the body of an
Italian worker
which they had
earlier thrown from
the aircraft. / ' '
The plane took off
piloted by a weary Joe
Kroese. At his side was
his dead co-pilot, 27-
year - old Rolf Kess,
who had earlier been
reportedly executed by
the terrorists. : .....<.
Shortly before takeoff
Captain Korese radioed
Athens control
tower that he had
eight. dead hostages
aboard. .
The hi j ackers had
fire-bombed the Rome
Airport in - a sudden
attack which killed 30,
most of thein passengers
of a Pan Am Boeing
about to depart for
Beirut.
They had then grabbed
a;- group of hostages—
at least 14 according
to Lufthansa figure
es — and left for
A the n s where they
were deadlocked with
Greek authorities for
16 hours in talks for
the release of their two
comrades.
\ Despite the nights
long . negotiations the
guerrilas failed to win
the immediate release
of the two Arab comifiandoes.
..<••••.
Finally, they limited
their demands to being
allowed to refuel and
leave for Cairo in the
Jiijacked Boeing 737.
Beirut Airport- said
a message had been received
from the aircraft's
captain saying
he. was running short
of fuel and wanted to
land at Beirut.
Cars were placed on
all the airport runways.
to prevent the hijacked
jet from landing, in
Beirut without permission.
The Lufthansa plane
flew in over Lebanon,
circled Beirut airport,
then flew off in an
easterly -direction : towards
Syria over ••the" 1
snow-coVered Lebanese
mounts, landing at Damascus
Airport shortly
afterwards. , > •
Meanwhile, in Melbourne
the president
•£ the Australian Fed- :
eration of, Air Pilots,
Captain J. Guggenheimer,
said the Rome hijack
-massacre could,
lead to a world pilots!
strike.
would not be surprised
if pilots around
the world stop work,"
lie said. "The situation*
is so bad that when I
go to work in the morning'I
cannot guarantee
my wife that, I will
come home".
The men they wanted
^released were arrested
in August after"
an attack on the
Athens • Airport with
five killed and 55 injured.
The Greek Government
at first said it accepted
the deal, then
suddenly retracted and
refused to give in to
the demands.
The. terrorists - had
threatened to kill all
the people aboard,
blow up the plane on
the runway or crash
it on Athens-if the
Greek Government did
not accept their demands.
The Greeks accepted
ajid, then -transferred
the two terrorists to
the airport.
- But Greek authorities
delayed a. final , decision
and kept on
dragging the -negotiations
with the .hijackers
through Monday
night and, yesterday
v
morning. - •
' Sources said the
Greek'police were seeking,
an opportunity to
raid the aircraft; but
the terrorists kept on
taxiing it through the
airport and then stopped
it .in a position
from •.: which nobody
could get close unnoticed^''."
: '.'We have decided
the two terrorists must
be brought to trial," a
Govern ment spokesman
said.
The man, identified
as "Nikos" had acted
as negotiator with the
hijackers by ,phone
from the. control. tower
of the "airport.
INCENTIVES
CANBERRA, Wednesday
(AAP): A new
export -.incentives
scheme to come into
operation in July next
year was announced
yesterday, by, tlie. Min-.
ister for Overseas
Trade, Dr Cairns.
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