Crew members and passengers overpowered a Russian man who tried to hijack an Aeroflot plane yesterday and the aircraft safely made an emergency landing in Prague, airline officials said.

"One of the passengers on board the Moscow-Geneva flight said he had an explosive device and ordered (the crew) to change course," Lev Koshlyakov, deputy general director of the Russian airline, said.

"There are reasons to believe that this was an act of hooliganism," he added.

The Airbus A320 flying from Moscow to Geneva made an unplanned landing in the Czech capital after the pilot declared an emergency on board. Czech foreign police said there were 170 people and eight crew members on board.

Passengers and crew members overpowered the man and handed him over to Czech police who were questioning him, officials said.

"A drunk person was on board. He provoked a brawl with passengers, threatened to damage the plane and demanded that it change the course," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Viktor Parkhimovich, an Aeroflot representative in Prague, as saying.

Czech police spokesman Pavel Hantak said the man was subdued on the plane and no passengers were injured.

"The suspect, a male of Russian nationality, is in the hands of the Czech police," Mr Hantak said. The name of the suspect was not released.

The plane landed in Prague at 10.42 a.m. (0942 GMT) and was directed to an outer area of the airport, where it was surrounded by emergency vehicles. Police with dogs searched the plane but found no arms or explosives, officials said.

The plane continued its journey to Geneva at 10 p.m. (2100 GMT) after passengers had been questioned.