Flight diverted after man takes hostage

A male passenger on an Air China flight from Changsha to Beijing was detained on Sunday after he used a pen to take a crew member hostage.

The man, identified only as Xu, 41, from Anhua, Hunan province, was taken into custody at 1 pm on Sunday after the plane was diverted to Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport in Henan province.

Xu, who reportedly has a history of mental illness, began acting abnormally during the flight and took a member of the cabin crew hostage using a pen as a weapon, according to the Henan Public Security Department. No injures were reported.

The diversion of Flight CA1350 to Zhengzhou was made for “public safety reasons” and the crew followed proper procedures, aviation authority said on Sunday.

Henan Airport Group said the flight landed at 9:58 am, and all passengers were led safely from the plane to the terminal buildings at 10:50 am.

The flight had departed Changsha in Hunan at 8:40 am and had been scheduled to arrive in Beijing at about 11 am. © 2018 China Daily

ZHANG WEI / CHINA DAILY Women in traditional clothes take part in the opening ceremony of a peony festival in Huai’an, Jiangsu province, on Saturday. More than 30,000 visitors attended the ceremony. The festival runs through early May.

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