SectionRead the video transcriptexpand here
Hostage drama at Hamburg Airport on Saturday evening. Armed with incendiary devices and a firearm, a man breaks through the barrier to the tarmac with his car and stops next to an aircraft. Also in the car: his four-year-old daughter. This was probably preceded by a custody dispute with the mother. Emergency services arrive and secure the surrounding area. Flight operations will be discontinued.
The Austrian Alina Tuider was on board a plane to Vienna that was about to take off.
Alina Tuider, teacher from Vienna
"Well, we've been on the tarmac for five minutes and were about to take off. And suddenly we stopped and didn't move any further. At a certain moment, we also saw police officers with assault rifles and helmets in full gear walking across the airfield. Some of them also hid behind cars. And yes, that's when the atmosphere got a bit uncomfortable."
In the end, the hostage drama will last more than 18 hours. Meanwhile, the 35-year-old hostage-taker fires his weapon several times and throws so-called Molotov cocktails onto the runway. Tuider also claims to have heard shots in the vicinity of the plane.
Alina Tuider, teacher from Vienna
"Now, in retrospect, I dare say that we heard a shot. That was relatively early, so we didn't know what it was all about. Then there is a loud noise, then you quickly associate it with a gunshot. In retrospect, I think half an hour later, it was reported in the media that shots were fired."
The passengers in the planes must remain on board for the time being. Then the police arrived, evacuated Alina Tuider's plane.
Alina Tuider, teacher from Vienna
"They parked right next to the plane and boarded the plane in full gear and told us to leave all our luggage on the plane because we were now being evacuated by the police. Then we all gathered in front of the plane. I would say that was the most awkward and scary moment for everyone involved. Since the helicopter was above our heads. You could see the blue light in the distance. Even though we weren't right next to the action, it was a feeling of its own to be outside, in the air, in this situation."
The group will be taken to a safe room and then escorted out of the building. The hostage drama ends bloodlessly, the man allows himself to be arrested without resistance. More than 400 people were accommodated in hotel rooms, and numerous flights were cancelled or diverted. Hamburg Airport is working to resume flight operations.
Alina Tuider, teacher from Vienna
"There was no light there. The only light that lit up the room came from outside and was occasionally illuminated by blue light. Then the police announced that we would now be escorted from the building in groups."