Swiss family arrive in Zurich after Greek hostage ordeal
The Swiss family who were taken hostage while on a cruise holiday in Greece have arrived back in Switzerland. The three adults and two children touched down at Zurich's Kloten airport tired, but in good health.
This content was published on July 28, 2000 - 22:40They were greeted by friends and family, and a small number of journalists.
"We did not know what was going to happen and we expected the worst," the father, Andreas Hager, said. "We had to stay calm in order not to provoke the hijacker. Thankfully, the children did not fully realise what was going on."
Early on Wednesday, a man from the Czech Republic hijacked the yacht with the family and their Greek captain on board, just outside the Greek town of Nafplion. He threatened the travellers with a gun and demanded that they take him to Morocco.
The ordeal lasted more than 10 hours. But after failed attempts at negotiating with the hijacker, Greek elite agents shot dead the 38-year old.
Hager described the surprise attack by the hostage-taker as the worst moment.
swissinfo with agencies
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