Orders were to kill hijackers "at any cost"

Twenty years after the Egyptair hijack disaster, former Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici lays the blame for the bloodbath squarely on the Egyptian commandos who stormed the aircraft.

In a story in M magazine, out with The Sunday Times today, Dr Mifsud Bonnici says there were so many deaths in the infamous 1985 hijack because the Egyptians "mishandled" the situation.

Sixty people died, but just a handful were actually killed by the three Palestinian hijackers in what is known as the bloodiest hijack prior to September 11, 2001.

The former prime minister, who had assumed the role of chief negotiator, claims he did not even know that the aircraft was about to be stormed.

"They also put explosives under the aircraft without my knowledge and commandos surrounded it and just started shooting.

"Up to that point, we were still trying to negotiate the release of the passengers and once that was achieved, we would have refuelled the aircraft with water so that it would be grounded," Dr Mifsud Bonnici reveals.

He insists that he took control of the situation personally because he was afraid the US would take matters into their own hands.

Still, following the disastrous outcome, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said he had considered resigning from his post but his colleagues insisted he was not to blame for the disaster.

Leading forensic expert Anthony Abela Medici, who followed the incident closely, confirmed the botched storming of the aircraft.

"The Egyptians were shooting at everyone. One commando was standing on the wing and killed a fleeing Palestinian passenger. The orders were to kill the hijackers at any cost. They were also told to shoot at anyone trying to escape from the plane."