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Jamaica: Gunman releases passengers, keeps crew hostage

Last updated on: April 20, 2009 15:31 IST

A gunman took 180 passengers on board a plane hostage at a Jamaican airport late on Sunday evening, but released all its passengers unharmed later, according to a CNN report.

However, five crew members of the Canadian plane were still being held as hostages, airline officials said.

A spokeswoman for the airport told CNN that the hostage crisis took place while a CanJet flight was taking off from Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay to Halifax, Canada.

The man reportedly entered the airport using a fake identity card and then sneaked onto the flight.

The Jamaican police said that they were waiting for more information about the crisis. Security personnel have been deployed at the airport.