New Delhi: An Air Mauritania plane was hijacked on Thursday and flown to Spain's Canary Islands. However, the hijacker was overpowered by the passengers and has been arrested.
The Boeing 737 passenger plane was hijacked shortly after take-off from Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott on an internal flight and was taken to the Spanish Canary Islands to Las Palmas where it landed at Gando military base.
The plane was on its way to the northern Mauritanian port of Nouadhibou. There were 71 passengers and eight crew members on board, who helped overpower the hijacker, Spanish officials said.
Police said the man was armed with two handguns. His motive was not known but officials in Spain and Mauritania said he had demanded to be flown to France.
Of the 71 passengers - mostly Spaniards and Mauritanians - 21 were treated for slight injuries, a Las Palmas police spokesman was quoted by news agency Associated Press as saying.
The most serious was a pregnant woman was treated for severe shock.
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