Hijack suspects due to be freed

Two men held by police as suspected hijackers of the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed off the coast of the Comoro islands may be released today. Dgouma Ibrahim, spokesman for the islands' Internal Ministry, said the men arrested on Saturday after the plane crashed, killing 127 people, were now believed to have been innocent passengers.

When the two suspects were shown to the first officer on the flight, Yonas Mekuria, he told police they were not the hijackers. The suspects remained in police custody, but Mr Ibrahim said they would be released today if officials confirmed that they actually were passengers from Djibouti and Congo, and not the hijackers, who were thought to be Ethiopian.

The Foreign Office last night confirmed that the Britons Kathleen Wilding, 87, and Kanti Shah were on board the flight and have not been accounted for, leaving just one UK national unidentified.