Montego Bay, Jamaica – Hostage-Taker Surrenders After Hijacking Canadian Commercial Airline

Montego Bay, Jamaica – An armed man, described as “mentally challenged,” took six crew members hostage after he barged onto a passenger jet at a Jamaican airport Monday and demanded to be flown to Cuba.

The gunman, believed to be in his early 20s, released all passengers and two members of the crew from the CanJet plane but negotiations continued Monday morning at Sangster International Airport in the resort city of Montego Bay to secure the remaining crew members’ release.

“The hijacking is that from a mentally challenged youngster and not anything that would be of concern in terms of an international incident,” said Jamaica’s Information Minister Daryl Vaz.

“His demand was to go to Cuba,” he said.

CanJet Airlines flight 918 was carrying 174 passengers and eight crew members, said Kent Woodside, the airline’s vice president. All the passengers are Canadian, he said.

The Boeing 737 flew in from Halifax, Canada, and had made a scheduled landing at Montego Bay, when the armed man boarded the plane late Sunday, the airline said. It was scheduled to continue on to Santa Clara, Cuba.

The gunman fired a shot in the boarding bridge to the plane as he entered, Woodside said.

He then took an undisclosed number of passengers and crew members hostage, said Elizabeth Scotton, a spokeswoman for the company that manages the airport.

All but six were released unhurt.

Two of the six crew members who remained inside the plane Monday locked themselves in the cockpit, Vaz said.

Among those negotiating with the man were his father and Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who flew in by helicopter. The country’s minister of national security also was at hand.

“We are relieved that all the passengers involved in this incident are safe as well as two crew members, and our top priority is to provide the safe release of the remaining crew members,” Woodside said.

The passengers were taken to a hotel, Vaz said. The airport was shut down.

**UPDATE** 8:00 AM
The gunmen has surrendered.