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Man overpowered trying to hijack Alitalia flight
A man with a knife tried to hijack an Alitalia flight from Paris to Rome Sunday night, demanding it be flown to Libya, but was quickly overpowered and arrested when the plane landed.
Witnesses said the man put a small knife to the throat of a female flight attendant and held her for a few minutes.
Italian media said police had identified the man as a 48-year-old citizen of Kazakhstan who was a member of the UNESCO delegation in Paris.
A statement from Alitalia airlines said the man had "assaulted a flight attendant and asked that the plane be taken to Tripoli."
There were 131 passengers aboard the plane.
Other attendants on flight AZ329 then overpowered the man, who was "clearly agitated" and the captain radioed police, who arrested the man when the plane landed, the statement said.
The flight attendant was taken to a first aid station at Rome airport for treatment of minor injuries.
