Cathay Pacific and Swissair crews in Istanbul hostage incident?
Cathay Pacific Airways and Swissair say their flight crews are among the hostages at an Istanbul hotel which has been stormed by pro-Chechen gunmen.
The hostage-takers have issued a statement warning police not to intervene and that a significant number of hostages will remain with them until their demands are met.
The British Foreign Office says it believes UK residents may have been caught up in incident.
SAirGroup AG says it does not know the number of hostages being held at its Swissotel, adding that approximately 600 guests are registered at the hotel.
The 18-storey hotel has more than 500 rooms and is set in 65 acres of parkland on the banks of the Bosphorus.
Turkish police say they are negotiating with a 20-25 member group of heavily armed gunmen.
According to one hostage contacted via telephone by local television station NTV, between 50 and 70 hotel guests and staff are being held in the hotel.
The hostage-takers want to negotiate with Turkish Interior Minister Saadettin Tantan, according to the Anatolia news agency.
One guest at the hotel, who witnessed the events there, has told NTV television that the assailants had fired shots in the air as they stormed in, but said that no one had been injured.
Around 16 Cathay Pacific crew members are staying at a luxury hotel and around nine Swissair staff.