Jamaica-Canada bond proves strong as hostages return home
Published: Wednesday | April 22, 2009
Tamara Fralick (centre) and Bryanna Shaddick (right) are greeted by Tamara's mother, Tracy Fralick, as they embrace after arriving at the airport in Halifax, Nova Scotia, early yesterday. Tamara Fralick and Bryanna Shaddick were aboard the charter aircraft hijacked by a gunman on the tarmac at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James, Sunday night. - AP
Stepping into the airport in Halifax, Canada, passengers from the hijacked CanJet plane were glad to be home after their ordeal.
The passengers were flown home early yesterday after they were held hostage for an hour by a gunman at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James.
Brenda Bond, a passenger on the flight, said "it was frightening but everyone kept their cool, and the Canadian staff were amazing".
Stephen Fray, the hostage taker, described as "a troubled young man" by Information Minister Daryl Vaz, eventually let all the passengers leave the plane, provided they leave all their money behind.
Mounties offer counselling
Cooperation between Canada and Jamaica has been close since the incident. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has offered counselling to all of the passengers and has met with and interviewed all of the crew, who will not be giving any kind of public statement. Any information gathered by the RCMP is being shared with the Jamaican authorities. It has also been reported that the team that stormed the plane was trained by the Canadian Special Operations Forces. While no members of the Canadian Special Operations Regiment were present at the scene, a Jamaica-based unit had been working on counterterrorism techniques with the Jamaican Defence Force.
Vaz was full of praise for the raid, calling it "a clean operation".
