Georgian man detained for attempted high-jacking of a Belarus-bound plane

MOSCOW – The Belarusian security service says it has thwarted an attempt to high-jack a plane flying in to the capital Minsk from Georgia.

The KGB agency, which takes its name from its Soviet predecessor, said in a statement Tuesday a Georgian national threatened to trigger a bomb on the plane unless the pilots agreed to divert it to an unspecified European destination.

The KGB said the man communicated his demands in a note, but the pilots could land the plane in Minsk as scheduled. The Belarusian officials said they managed to detain the high-jacker following an hour-long negotiation.

Neither the passengers nor the crew on the flight, which came from the Georgian city of Kutaisi, were hurt, the KGB said.