From the first flash to landing in Dubai A look at how PTI covered the hijacking of IC814 in 1999

.AMRITSAR DEL77
     HIJACK-LD HOVER
     Amritsar, Dec 24 (pti) The hijackers of the Indian Airlines plane have agreed to land at Raja Sansi airport here only for refuelling as the aircraft was left with five minutes of fuel, Airport Director Mulekar said.
     He said the hijackers have warned if the security forces tried to storm the aircraft, they would start killing the passengers. more pti corr msa rkc RKC 12241910
    
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     .AMRITSAR DEL78
     HIJACK-LAND
     Amritsar, Dec 24 (PTI) The hijacked Indian Airlines plane landed at Raja Sansi airport here this evening. pti corr msa RKC 12241914
    
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     .NEWDEL DEL79
     2ND LD HIJACK
     IA plane hijacked, hijackers allow plane to land in Amritsar
     New Delhi, Dec 24 (PTI) Five heavily-armed hijackers today took control of an Indian Airlines airbus flying from Kathmandu to New Delhi with 189 persons on board and the hijackers have agreed to allow the plane to land in Amritsar.
MORE PTI ARC MS KGS VMN UB 12241915
    
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     .AMRITSAR DEL82
     HIJACK-LAND 2
     The Airport Director said he had sent a message to Delhi asking whether the aircraft should be refuelled. The plane landed at runway number 34, he said. more pti corr msa rkc RKC 12241917
    
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     .NEWDEL DEL83
     2ND LD HIJACK TWO
     As the plane was running out of fuel, the hijackers, said to be armed with grenades and revolvers, allowed it to land in Amritsar for refuelling. The hijackers, who have not outlined their demands, reportedly want the aircraft to be flown to Lahore. Security at the Amritsar airport has been beefed up. MORE PTI ARC MS AKD VMN UB 12241918
    
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     .AMRITSAR DEL86
     HIJACK-LAND 3
     The hijackers were carrying AK-47 rifles, grenades and revolvers and have threatened to start killing the passengers if refuelling did not begin within five minutes, Mulekar said. The refuelling had started after the hijackers' warning, he said. Police have cordoned off the aircraft, he said. more pti corr pal rkc msa RKC 12241929

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     .NEWDEL DEL87
     2ND LD HIJACK THREE
     The hijackers have threatened to blow up the aircraft if anybody other than the fuel tankers tries to come anywhere near the aircraft, ATC sources said. The hijackers have said that they had allowed the aircraft to land at Amritsar airport only for "immediate refuelling".
     The Airbus A-300, which had 178 passengers including four children and a crew of 11, left Kathmandu's Triubhuvan airport at 1625 hours and was hijacked shortly after it entered Indian airspace in Uttar Pradesh. The identity of the hijackers was immediately not known.
     The flight IC 814 was scheduled to land at Delhi airport at 1740 hours. The crisis management group headed by Cabinet Secretary Prabhat Kumar is having an emergency meeting to take measures to deal with the mid-air hijacking. MORE PTI KGS PYK AKD VMN UB 12241929
    
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     .AMRITSAR DEL88 HIJACK-LAND 4
     Mulekar said the pilot has informed him that the hijackers were speaking Hindi and were carrying AK-47, grenades and revolvers. more pti corr pal RKC 12241931
    
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     .NEWDEL DEL90
     HIJACK-CELL
     IA sets up control room for information on hijacked plane New Delhi, Dec 24 (PTI) Indian Airlines has set up a special control room at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here to provide information about the passengers in the hijacked plane. The telephone numbers of the control room are 5655110 and 5652173. PTI SKL YY UB 12241934
    
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     .NEWDEL DEL92
     HIJACK-CELL TWO LAST (Reopens DEL90)
     Airports Authority of India have also set up a special cell at the Indira Gandhi International Airport for providing information to anxious relatives of passengers in the hijacked plane. The telephone numbers are 5653217-18 and 5653225-8. PTI SKL UB 12241940
    
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     .NEWDEL DEL93
     2ND LD HIJACK 4
     Giving details, Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav said the plane was seized at 1655 hours while it was descending to land at Lucknow. He said the pilot had radioed that the hijackers were armed with grenades and pistols.
     The plane was hijacked as soon as the announcement about landing at Lucknow was made.
     Yadav said the government was in touch with authorities in Pakistan as well as Pakistan High Commissioner here Ashraf Jehangir Qazi.
     Meanwhile, according to sources, the authorities are trying to open negotiations with the hijackers. MORE PTI SC KA AKD VMN UB 12241944
    
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     .AMRITSAR DEL94
     HIJACK-THREAT
     Hijackers have decided to kill passengers
     Amritsar, Dec 24 (pti) The pilot of the hijacked Indian Airlines flight has informed the airport authorities here that the hijackers have decided to kill some passengers. Airport Director Mulekar said he had been informed of this by Capt. D Sharan after refuelling of the aircraft had suddenly been stopped under instructions from New Delhi. The hijackers have started communicating with the control tower and claimed that they have started killing the passengers, Mulekar said. pti corr msa rkc RKC 12241949
    
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     .NEWDEL DEL98
     2ND LD HIJACK 5
     5 Crack commandos of the National Security Gaurd (NSG) have air dashed to Amritsar for a possible commando action.
     The Crisis Management Group, which also included Prime Minister's Pricipal Secretary Brajesh Mishra, Home Secretary Kamal Pande, Civil Aviation Secretary Ravinder Gupta and Director General of Civil Aviation H S Khola besides officials from External Affairs and Home Ministries, discussed the measures to deal with the hijacking.
     Yadav said all steps were being taken to ensure the safety and security of the passengers.
     "All emergency measures are in place," he said. MORE PTI ARC MS PYK VMN AKD DDG UB 12241957
    
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     .NEWDEL DEL112
     2ND LD HIJACK SIX
     Yadav said when the aircraft landed, the pilot asked for refuelling.
     As the oil tanker was proceeding towards the plane, the pilot was asked by the control tower to move the aircraft closer to the tanker, Yadav said, adding that at this the hijackers opened fire, killing four passengers.
     Immediately after shooting the passengers, the hijackers directed the pilot to take off.
     Indian Foreign Secretary Lalit Mansingh is in touch with Pakistani counterpart and the External Affairs Ministry is in constant contact with Pakistani High Commissioner in Delhi. PTI SC KA DDG VMN UB 12242026
    
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     .AMRITSAR DEL99
     HIJACK-LD THREAT
     Hijackers kill four passengers
     Amritsar, Dec 24 (pti) The hijackers of the Indian Airlines flight, which landed here for refuelling, are reported to have shot four passengers, a senior airport official said.
     The pilot of the Airbus 300, carrying 189 passengers and crew, has informed the control tower that four persons have been killed by the hijackers armed with pistols and hand grenades, according to Trilok Singh, senior aerodrome officer.
     The reported killings occurred after the refuelling of the aircraft, which was hijacked on a flight from Kathmandu to Delhi. more pti corr msa rkc RKC 12241959
    
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)