UPDATE 3-Passengers thwart attempt to hijack Russian plane

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By Jan Korselt

Passengers overpowered a Russian man who tried to hijack an Aeroflot plane on Thursday and the aircraft safely made an emergency landing in Prague, airline officials said.

"One of the passengers on board the Moscow-Geneva flight said he had an explosive device and ordered (the crew) to change course," Lev Koshlyakov, deputy general director of the Russian airline, told Reuters.

"There are reasons to believe that this was an act of hooliganism," he added.

The Airbus A-320 flying from Moscow to Geneva made an unplanned landing in the Czech capital after the pilot declared an emergency on board. Russia's Transport Ministry said there were 168 people on board.

"A drunk person was on board. He provoked a brawl with passengers, threatened to damage the plane and demanded that it change the course," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Viktor Parkhimovich, an Aeroflot representative in Prague, as saying.

Czech police spokesman Pavel Hantak said the man was subdued on the plane and no passengers were injured.

"The suspect, a male of Russian nationality, is in the hands of the Czech police," Hantak said. The name of the suspect was not released.

The plane landed in Prague at 10:42 a.m. (0942 GMT) and was directed to an outer area of the airport, where it was surrounded by emergency vehicles.

A Reuters witness said a bus approached the plane and the passengers were led off the aircraft and taken to a controlled area of the airport terminal.

Koshlyakov said the plane was preparing to continue its journey to Geneva. (Additional reporting by Oleg Shchedrov in Moscow)

[PRAGUE/Reuters/Finance.cz]