Heart-Stopping Photos of Attempted Hijacking in China Go Viral

Alex Fitzpatrick by 10

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.

SEE ALSO: The Censorship Game: Chinese Twitter Will Score User Behavior

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.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, fpm

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10 Comments
  1. Les Moonvest

    I can’t imagine an existence without freedom of speech. We take so much for granted.

    For all its many, many (many) faults, God Bless America.

    Reply 1 Flag this comment
  2. Sarah Ball

    heart stopping photos? More like, can’t tell what’s going on and kind of confusing photos..

    Reply 1 Flag this comment
  3. GallowayGordon1

    what Tony answered I’m shocked that some people able to get paid $8688 in a few weeks on the internet. have you seen this page (Click on menu Home more information) http://goo.gl/swMZ2

    Reply 0 Flag this comment
  4. Will Ju

    @Les, what does this have anything to do with freedom of speech or America for that matter? America is one of few countries in the first world that doesn’t have a universal/social health care (even some developing countries have it) system. If you would care to explore the world you would see that there are comparable and/or better places to live in the first world. American is a country founded on profiteering and the American health care system is a perfect example of that.

    Reply 0 Flag this comment
    • Haek0n

      America has one of the best health care systems in the world. People come from Mexico illegally because our hospitals will care for anyone on our tax dime. People come from Canada so they don’t have to wait 10 years on a waiting list to see a doctor (for anything other than a transplant, and then they go to China to be implanted with organs stolen from prisoners for money).

      Sure, there’s comparable places to live in the world. Sure, I’d also like to live elsewhere if citizenship/visa laws weren’t such a clusterfuck. But saying that any first world country isn’t founded on profiteering is a joke. English, French, and Dutch colonialism are just a example. Aint a place in the world that isn’t…even the shittiest parts of Africa.

      Reply 0 Flag this comment
      • imseojoseph

        As you can tell, I’m white. However: I live in Mexico.

        Fact: a doctors visit cost 30 pesos. That’s $2.25 cents to see a doctor.
        Fact: there are programs, like in the states, where you get Medical Insurance that pays for most of your hospital stays. Note: there is a social security hospital and you get the bill when you walk out the door. can’t pay it? they have payment plans.

        I don’t think Mexicans go north for the doctors. They go up there in dreams of a better life. Places like ihop, chilies, and other ‘american restaurant paint a really clear picture that its a beautiful place to live where you can earn a lot of money. Sure restaurants are not the only thing..

        Now – one thing that I cannot agree with – is this: when I used to live in Tijuana and I would cross to goto San Diego at 6am-ish.You would see THOUSANDS of kids crossing the border. Why? Going to school. Thats when the state needs to build more schools on the tax dllr because the school system is flawed. Then there are more teachers to hire, etc, etc.

        0 Flag this comment
  5. Stevie Erskine

    £100 says there dead allready

    Reply 0 Flag this comment
  6. Stevie Erskine

    i gotta say i hate america,and everything it stands for,money grabbing, lying,greedy,no morals,fuked up retards.then theres the politicians,dont even get me started on them,there all scum.

    Reply 0 Flag this comment
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