Hamburg airport remains closed as police deal with 'hostage situation'
Air traffic at Hamburg airport remained suspended Sunday over a suspected hostage situation on the tarmac involving a child, local authorities said. A gunman rammed his car through the security area onto the apron where planes are parked on Saturday evening, firing two shots in the air and flinging two burning bottles out of the vehicle, police said.
- Europe
- Reuters
- Published Date: 10:26 | 05 November 2023
- Modified Date: 10:26 | 05 November 2023
Hamburg airport remained closed on Sunday, authorities said, as police dealt with a hostage situation they say likely involves a custody dispute.
The airport closed for all takeoffs and landings on Saturday evening after police arrived in large numbers on the scene to deal with a man who drove through a barrier onto the grounds of the airport with a child.
The car with the 35-year-old man and 4-year-old child was parked under a plane, a police spokesperson said.
"The operation continues. Our negotiators are in contact with the person in the car," the police posted on Sunday on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Police said the child's mother had told them the father had been in contact with her.
Police would not confirm their earlier statements that the man was armed and had fired shots.