This is the moment when one of the passengers believed to be held hostage on the EgyptAir plane forced to land in Cyprus, takes a grinning selfie with the hijacker.
The hijacker, identified as Seif El Din Mustafa, is seen wearing his 'suicide belt', as an unknown man standing next to him on the plane pulls a silly face while taking a picture.
El Din Mustafa hijacked the domestic EgyptAir jet after taking off from Alexandria and forcing it to re-route to Cyprus' Larnaca airport, where he has taken several passengers and crew hostage and demanded to see his Cypriot ex-wife.
Cyprus police have evacuated a stretch of beach near the tarmac, as at least four more people were allowed to leave the plane shortly after midday, with one man seen climbing out of the cockpit
An Egyptian Foreign Ministry official said in a statement: 'He's not a terrorist, he's an idiot. Terrorists are crazy but they aren't stupid. This guy is.'
Cyprus police have evacuated a stretch of beach near the tarmac, as at least four more people were allowed to leave the plane shortly after midday, with one man seen climbing out of the cockpit.
A picture from the tarmac shows the moment the attacker hands over a four-page letter intended for his ex-wife, as a female airport official stands with her head in her hands.
Airport officials are onboard the plane and have yet to find any explosives, as seven people remain with the hijacker; four crew and three passengers.
While initially not making any demands beyond his ex-wife and asylum, the hijacker has now asked for the release of female prisoners in Egypt, the Cyprus state broadcaster reported.
Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades told reporters the incident appeared to be motivated by personal reasons and 'is not terrorism-related'
Asked about reports that the hijacker had demanded to see a Cypriot woman, Anastasiades laughed and said: "Always there is a woman."
Police spokeswoman Nicoletta Tirimou said the letter handed to officials is written in Arabic, and is being translated, adding that the man's ex-lover had arrived at the airport and that the couple had children.
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