Spain Hijacking Ends

A 45-year-old Moroccan who used a fake pistol to hijack an airliner to Spain surrendered peacefully Thursday after releasing all 92 passengers and crew unharmed.

The seven-hour ordeal began late Wednesday in skies over North Africa. The Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737-400 had taken off from Casablanca, Morocco, on a flight to Tunis, Tunisia.

The hijacker, whose name was not released, demanded to be flown to Germany. The plane was diverted to Barcelona, landing at El Prat airport about 11 p.m., where it was immediately surrounded by national police and Civil Guards.

The hijacker insisted that the plane be refueled for the trip to Germany, but was convinced by a special team of police and psychologists, working in the control tower through a French-speaking interpreter, to give himself up.

The passengers filed out the back of the plane into two waiting buses, while the hijacker waited with the pilot in the cockpit for police.

Authorities initially questioned the hijacker in the airport police station. They have 72 hours to bring him before a judge, police spokesman Carlos Carbonell said.

The man was described as Â"mentally unstableÂ" by David Bonet, the Interior Ministry's second-ranking official in Catalonia, the northeast region bordering France of which Barcelona is the capital. Bonet said the hijacker's only motive appeared to be a desire to emigrate to Europe.

Bonet said police confirmed the man was acting alone and used a fake pistol. He did not say whether it was a toy.

Authorities said the passengers included 24 Tunisians, 32 Moroccans and the nine-member Moroccan crew. The rest were from Europe and other African countries.

The passengers spent the remainder of the night in the airport departure lounge before continuing their journey to Tunisia.