Passengers foil hijacker on Chinese plane

Xinjiang :  Chinese airline passengers helped foil an attempt to hijack their plane. As calls to Xinjiang's regional government and police offices went unanswered, passengers risked stopping the hijackers themselves. Passengers were seen holding down a suspect in a picture posted on China's Sina Weibo (Chinese twitter)

Passengers and air crew subdued six people who attempted to hijack a flight 10 minutes after it took off from the remote desert city of Hotan, a heavily ethnic Uighur area that has been hit by recent bouts of violence, Xinhua news agency said.

The Tianjin Airlines plane was flying to the regional capital, Urumqi, when the attackers were overpowered according to reports. The aircraft returned to Hotan where six people were taken into custody.

The news agency did not identify the hijackers or give any information about their background. Two guards on board the plane were seriously injured in the struggle with the hijackers, while the senior flight attendant and seven passengers were slightly injured, Xinhua added.