China: Xinjiang plane hijackers overpowered by passengers, crew
Uighur activists protest against the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao outside of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 19, 2011. Many Uighurs complain of religious and cultural repression by the Chinese authorities, charges Beijing denies.
Six men in China have been arrested after they attempted to hijack a plane carrying 100 passengers in the restive farwestern region of Xinjiang.
According to the BBC, air crew and passengers overpowered the men as they tried to break into the cockpit of the Tianjin Airlines flight 10 minutes after it took off from Hotan, a city in southwestern Xinjiang.
Two sky marshals were “seriously injured” during the melee on board the plane, which was en route to the regional capital Urumqi, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
A flight attendant and seven passengers also received minor injuries.
The Wall Street Journal said air crew and passengers “tackled” the would-be hijackers and then tied them up with belts.
The six men were members of China’s mainly Muslim Uighur minority.
There are around nine million Uighurs living in Xinjiang, which has been the scene of regular violent unrest in recent years.
Many Uighurs complain of religious and cultural repression by Chinese authorities – charges Beijing strenuously denies.
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According to Agence France-Presse, this is the second violent incident in Hotan this month.
On June 6, 12 children were injured when police raided an “illegal” Islamic school.
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