'Three passengers killed as Saudis storm hijack jet'

Reports are coming in that one passenger, a flight attendant and a hijacker have been killed as Saudi forces stormed the hijacked airliner at Medina airport.

Initial reports indicated all the remaining hostages have been freed.

Topa Bilgetin Toker, General Director of Turkish Civilian Aviation, said Saudi forces stormed the plane after the pilots managed to escape.

He said the decision came after the hijackers failed to establish further contact with the Saudis. He says four to five people may have been injured.

But it is reported at least three have died as the plane was stormed.

Kremlin aide Sergei Yastrzhembsky said three hijackers were seized, one passenger was wounded and the rest of the passengers are being searched. He says the storming was approved by Russian authorities.

A passenger has been seen being carried away from the plane. His leg was strapped over his bloodied trousers. Smoke is still billowing from the jet.

About six ambulances and fire engines have surrounded the plane, which was parked in an isolated area on the tarmac.

The storming of the plane ended the hostage drama that began on Thursday shortly after the plane took off from Istanbul. The men had forced the aircraft, carrying 174 people, to land in Medina from Turkey. Hours later, 46 hostages were freed or escaped.

Reports on the number of hijackers, thought to be Chechens, varies from two to four. The hijackers were said to be armed with knives and claimed to have a bomb.

Aftayeva Fariza, a representative of the breakaway Chechen Republic in Amman, Jordan, identified the hijackers as Aslambek Artsayev, the former Chechen interior minister, and his brother, Sufian.