In the report about the Egypt Air hijacking (November 23) it is stated that “a big question hanging over the botched passenger rescue operation was the government’s reluctance to accept help from the Americans, who offered to send over the specialised Delta Force team”.

As the Director of Information at the time dealing with the local and international press, I wish to state, for the record, that although initially the then Prime Minister, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, was reluctant to involve the Delta Force in the rescue attempt because the aircraft was considered Egyptian territory, he eventually agreed to involve the Americans.

The Delta Force team was already on its way to Malta when the Egyptian commandos, to the utter surprise of the Maltese authorities, stormed the plane. The Egyptians were never allowed to conduct the rescue operation. They took matters into their own hands. Once the Egyptians stormed the plane, there was no point for the Delta Force team to continue on its way to Malta and turned back.

Throughout the ordeal, Dr Mifsud Bonnici’s main concern was the safety of the passengers on board. He was extremely saddened after the incident that so many innocent people had lost their lives.

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