An attempted airliner hijacking was fought off by passengers in the skies above western China on Friday, and photos of the incident went viral almost immediately on Chinese microblogging service Sina Weibo.
A passenger onboard took the pictures and sent them to Weibo user seland, who uploaded them for all the world to see. They seem to show a struggle between the would-be hijackers and passengers aboard the aircraft, who reportedly subdued and restrained the assailants.
Six hijackers attempted to take control of the plane early after takeoff over China’s Xinjiang provence, a region with a substantial Uighur population. The aircraft then returned to its departure airport, where the suspects were arrested.
Chinese state media has largely ignored the photos, but they’ve spread like wildfire across the Weibo network, which has approximately 300 million users.
On-Board Struggle
A struggle between hijackers and passengers developed on board the aircraft.
Restrained
This photo may show a would-be hijacker being restrained by passengers while the plane returns to the airport.
Hijackers Arrested
This photo appears to show the suspects being taken into custody.
