Libya hijack: Libyan Afriqiyah Airways flight seized by hijackers in Malta – as it happened

See The Independent's live updates as the situation unfolded

People exit hijacked plane in Malta

Two hijackers who diverted a Libyan passenger plane to Malta claiming to have a grenade have surrendered peacefully following hours of tense negotiations.

There were 118 people, including seven crew members, on board the hijacked Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320, which was travelling from Sabha in south east Libya to the capital Tripoli.

These were The Independent's live updates as the situation unfolded:

:: Libyan plane lands in Malta in 'potential hijack situation'

[23 December 2016 11:58 · Jack de Menezes]

The Libyan transport minister has said negotiations have begun with the hijackers of the Libyan plane, according to Anadolu news agency

[23 December 2016 12:03 · Jack de Menezes]

Pictures of security services near the flight believed to have been hijacked at Malta International Airport 

[23 December 2016 12:08 · Jack de Menezes]

The Libyan government has now confirmed hijackers have diverted a plane belong to a national Libyan carrier to Malta, according to AFP

[23 December 2016 12:10 · Jack de Menezes]

“The pilot reported to the control tower in Tripoli that they were being hijacked, then they lost communication with him,” a senior security official at Tripoli's Mitiga airport has told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The pilot tried very hard to have them land at the correct destination but they refused.”

[23 December 2016 12:16 · Jack de Menezes]

Delayed flights from Malta International Airport

Scenes from the departure lounge at Malta airport, from a video taken by a passenger 

[23 December 2016 12:20 · Jack de Menezes]

A negotiating team awaiting instructions from the Maltese Prime Minister is now on standby at Malta International Airport. Joseph Muscat is in a meeting with the country's National Security Committee, reported AP.

[23 December 2016 12:24 · Jack de Menezes]

Kurt Farrugia, the Maltese Government's head of communications, has said Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is in contact with Libyan Prime Minister Faez al Serraj.

[23 December 2016 12:26 · Jack de Menezes]

The last major hijacking in Malta was in 1985, when Palestinians took over an Egyptair plane. Egyptian commandos stormed the aircraft and dozens of people were killed

[23 December 2016 12:30 · Jack de Menezes]

Television Malta, a terrestrial network operated by the national broadcaster, is broadcasting live video of the plane from the airport on its website: 

 L-aħbarijiet ta' TVM

[23 December 2016 12:33 · Jack de Menezes]

According to the Times of Malta, the hijackers claim to be from a pro-Gaddafi group called Al Fatah Al Gadida, and offered to release all passengers apart from the crew if their demands were met.  

Al Fatah Al Gadida roughly translates to the 'new opening' or 'new victory' but the organisation is unknown and has not been reported on by Western media in the past.