Posted by Amarachi on Fri 18th Apr, 2025 - tori.ng
He stabbed two passengers in the back in the process while ordering the pilot to take him out of the country.
A man from the United States, identified as Akinyela Sawa Taylor, has been shot dead after he hijacked a small passenger plane, injuring two passengers in the Caribbean nation of Belize.
The man hijacked the plane with fourteen passengers onboard, taking control of the flight at knife-point.
He stabbed two passengers in the back in the process while ordering the pilot to take him out of the country.
Belize’s commissioner of police, Chester Williams, told local journalists that the hijacker was then shot in the chest by another passenger.
The plane landed safely at Philip Goldson international airport after circling erratically over the coastline near Belize City, with depleting fuel.
Taylor was pronounced dead at a local hospital, while one of the passengers with knife injury was in a critical condition.
Details of the incident remained sparse according to the Guardian UK, but Williams said passengers narrowly escaped.
The plane was en route from Corozal to San Pedro when the hijacking took place.
A spokesperson for the US embassy told reporters that it was working with Belize to investigate the incident.