Gun battle at Havana airport
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Gun battle at Havana airport
Wild West scenes in Havana today -
A fierce gun battle broke out at Havana's José Marti Airport on Thursday between police and three fugitive soldiers trying to commandeer an aircraft to leave the country, said an airport source. "Now, everything everything is under control, but there was a fierce gunfight," said the source said, adding that the men were on a bus heading for a Boeing 737 at Terminal 1 when the shooting took place. There was no official government confirmation of the incident or information about casualties, but an airport official who refused to be identified said everything was normal at the airport. The three men, young conscripts who fled their military unit on Saturday near Managua, southeast of Havana, were "neutralised" by the police, according to an airport worker.
The incident took place early on Thursday when the men seized several hostages, trying to take over an aircraft that had arrived from Santiago de Cuba at the east end of the island. "The plane had arrived from Santiago and, fortunately, all the passengers had already disembarked. "Only the crew were left, and they escaped through the front hatch. They were thinking the kidnappers wanted to leave the country." Since the weekend, Havana has been abuzz with talk of the three soldiers and security was tightened on roads into the capital. In 2003, a Russia AN-24 with 31 people aboard was hijacked and forced to fly to the United States by a man armed with grenades. He was ultimately detained without incident after the plane landed in Key West, Florida.
The incident took place early on Thursday when the men seized several hostages, trying to take over an aircraft that had arrived from Santiago de Cuba at the east end of the island. "The plane had arrived from Santiago and, fortunately, all the passengers had already disembarked. "Only the crew were left, and they escaped through the front hatch. They were thinking the kidnappers wanted to leave the country." Since the weekend, Havana has been abuzz with talk of the three soldiers and security was tightened on roads into the capital. In 2003, a Russia AN-24 with 31 people aboard was hijacked and forced to fly to the United States by a man armed with grenades. He was ultimately detained without incident after the plane landed in Key West, Florida.
