A CanJet aircraft is on its way to Jamaica to pick up stranded passengers and fly them to Cuba after a gunman hijacked the jet, holding six crew members hostage for eight hours before police and soldiers stormed the aircraft earlier today and captured the man.

"It (the jet) has not arrived in Montego Bay yet but is expected soon," said Sean Lewis, a media relations officer for CanJet in Halifax, N.S. The jet will fly to Santa Clara, Cuba, and then to Halifax. Lewis said the jet might return to Halifax late tonight or early tomorrow morning.

Nobody was killed or injured in the ordeal, which ended with a raid near daylight after talks broke down with a 20-year-old Jamaican hijacker described as "mentally challenged."

"We were getting nowhere with the negotiations," Jamaican Information Minister Daryl Vaz told the Associated Press. "Police and military went on the plane and captured him."

The suspect, identified as Stephen Fray, was in custody. Vaz said he is a "mentally challenged" 20-year-old man from the northwestern resort city of Montego Bay. He did not detail the man's mental condition but said he was apparently upset over a failed relationship.

The hostage crisis began around 10:20 p.m. last night and ended near 6:40 a.m. today, when members of the Jamaica Defence Force Counter Terrorism Operations Group stormed the aircraft's cabin.

The young man boarded CanJet Airlines Flight 918 in Montego Bay and demanded to be flown to Cuba, Vaz told the Associated Press.

A total of 159 passengers and eight crewmembers were aboard the Boeing 737 at the time, according to Jamaican police. All the passengers and two crewmembers were released in about half-hour; others were held captive for eight hours.

All the passengers were Canadian. The plane had arrived from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was scheduled to stop in Santa Clara, Cuba, before returning to Canada.

Jacques Poulin, a passenger on the plane, said he can't wait to get home to Glace Bay, N.S. "It was a great vacation with such a dramatic end," said the 17-year-old high school student. He spent a week in Lucea, Jamaica, with his parents Karen and Jay.

The three were at the Sangster International Airport getting ready to board the aircraft when a man, who Poulin described as "raggedy and brandishing a gun" forced his way through security. "There were two people chasing him but he managed to get into the plane," said Poulin from his hotel in Montego Bay.

"He said `You are not going to stop me. I'm going to the U.S."

It was about 10:15 p.m., he said, and only seven passengers had not boarded the aircraft.

Poulin and his shocked parents watched in horror as the man started arguing with the co-pilot who tried to talk him out of it. "I don't know what he said but the man shot into the loading ramp and the bullet grazed the co-pilot's face," said Poulin.

About half-hour later, all the passengers and two crewmembers were released.

Passengers told Poulin that the hijacker had taken all their cash. "But they were all fine - they were shaking but were okay." The passengers gave their statements to the police at the airport and were then taken to a hotel for the night.

"I was talking to other passengers last night and we were all just in a shock. We couldn't believe it had happened," said Poulin, whose girlfriend, Jena Leigh, was frantically trying to reach him. "I don't think anyone wants to go to Cuba now. Everyone wants to go home."

Alphonse Gossellin's phone hasn't stopped ringing all morning since family and friends found his son, Christian, was on the flight to Santa Clara, Cuba. Christian called up his father in the small New Brunswick town of Tracadie-Sheila early Monday morning.

"He was very shaken up and calm at the same time," his father, Alphonse Gosselin, told CBC Newsworld. "He told us not to worry; everyone was OK."

Alphonse Gosselin, whose 30-year-old son Christian was on the plane, said his son told him that the hijacker pointed a gun at him and other passengers. Christian and his girlfriend were among a group of 22 family members travelling to Cuba for a wedding.

Passengers were asked to give out all their money, Gosselin said. "[Christian] told his girlfriend to hide their passports in her back pocket, and also their credit cards."

"My son called and he was kind of shaken up, but he said everyone in the crew, in the gang, is safe," said Alphonse Gosselin.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Christian Gosselin hadn't been on a plane since he was about 11, but that was more flying experience than his girlfriend, Nancy Beattie, had, Alphonse Gosselin said.

"It was her first flight and she was quite nervous, so I don't know if she'll ever fly again."

- With files from The Associated Press

Read more about: