1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

'Best selfie ever' with hijacker

Manasi Gopalkrishnan (AFP, AP)March 30, 2016

A British man's photograph with the hijacker of an Egyptian plane has gone viral, even being dubbed the "best selfie ever." Twitter users have also poked fun at the hijacker, who said he just wanted to see his ex-wife.

https://p.dw.com/p/1IMED
The hijacked EgyptAir plane landed in Larnaca, Cyprus
Image: Reuters/Y. Kourtoglou

Ben Innes caused an online debate on Wednesday after he got his picture taken with the man who hijacked an EgyptAir plane a day ago. Speaking to Britain's Sun newspaper, 26-year-old Innes said, "I'm not sure why I did it - I just threw caution into the wind while trying to stay cheerful in the face of adversity."

"I figured if his bomb was real I'd have nothing to lose anyway, so took a chance to get closer and look at it," Innes added.

He stood by the hijacker as a stewardess took the snap. "It has to be the best selfie ever," Innes said.

His mother later clarified with the Daily Telegraph that the picture was not a selfie because it was taken by somebody else. "You can clearly see that it is not Ben taking the picture," she added.

Egyptian Seif Eddin Mustafa hijacked the plane on Tuesday and diverted the Alexandria-Cairo flight to Larnaca in Cyprus, where he was finally arrested. In a statement to Cypriot prosecutors, Mustafa said, "What's someone supposed to do when he hasn't seen his wife and children in 24 years and the government won't let him?"

Twitter users have a ball

Comments poured into social media on Wednesday, with users criticizing and making fun of both the hijacker and Ben Innes.

Some users said Innes should be prosecuted for his behavior.

Some users also tweeted mock pictures from Innes "selfie collection."

Mustafa was the butt of jokes under the hashtag #loveisintheair.

Sofia here was inspired to compose poetry:

Users like these were relieved that the hijack was just a normal one.

Passengers leave hijacked EgyptAir plane