A man who posed for a picture with a hijacker of EgyptAir

 

A man who posed for a picture with a hijacker wearing a suspected suicide belt has said he was trying to get a better look at the device. The image of Ben Innes, grinning next to his captor on the Egyptair flight, has gone viral on social media. Mr Innes, based in Aberdeen, also told the Sun newspaper he wanted to "stay cheerful in the face of adversity". Oil worker Mr Innes, who is originally from Leeds, was a passenger on the Airbus A320 on Tuesday when a man, named by Cypriot officials as Seif Eldin Mustafa, threatened to blow up the aircraft. The picture was taken during a five-hour standoff after the plane was diverted to Larnaca airport.