Updated

Valletta, Dec 23 (Reuters): All the passengers of a hijacked Libyan plane were released at Malta International Airport on Friday, Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat tweeted.

Buses were driven onto the tarmac to carry passengers away. Television footage showed no signs of struggle or alarm.

The aircraft had been on an internal flight in Libya on Friday morning when it was diverted to Malta, 500 km (300 miles) north of the Libyan coast, after a hijacker told crew he had a hand grenade. Initial reports said the hijacker had told crew he was "pro-Gaddafi" and that he was willing to let all 111 passengers leave the Airbus A320, but not its seven crew, if his demands were met, the Times of Malta said.

It was unclear what the demands were. Some media reports said there was more than one hijacker. Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed in an uprising in 2011, and the country has been racked by factional violence since.

Troops took up positions a few hundred metres (yards) from the plane as it stood on the tarmac. Several other flights at Malta International Airport were cancelled or diverted. A senior Libyan security official told Reuters that when the plane was still in flight on Friday morning the pilot told the control tower at Tripoli's Mitiga airport it had been hijacked.

"The pilot reported to the control tower in Tripoli that they were being hijacked, then they lost communication with him," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The pilot tried very hard to have them land at the correct destination but they refused."

Large numbers of security officials could be seen at Mitiga airport after news of the hijacking. The aircraft had been flying from Sebha in southwest Libya to Tripoli for state-owned Afriqiyah Airways, a route that would usually take a little over two hours.

The government of the tiny Mediterranean island, a European Union member, said Muscat had discussed the hijack with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj by phone, and a negotating team had been formed and was at the airport.

Britain offered Malta help with dealing with the incident. The last major hijacking in Malta was in 1985, when Palestinians took over an Egyptair plane. Egyptian commandos stormed the aircraft and dozens of people were killed.

Earlier update

Valletta (Malta), Dec 23: A Libyan aircraft with 118 people on board, including 82 men, 28 women and an infant, was hijacked on Friday by a man claiming to have a hand grenade. Hours after it landed in Malta a group of 25 people, consisting of women and children, were let off.

"First 25 passengers, consisting of women and children, being released now," Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat confirmed.

The hijacker told the crew he was "pro-Gaddafi" and that he was willing to let all 111 passengers leave the Airbus A320, but not its seven crew, if his demands were met, the Times of Malta said.

Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed in an uprising in 2011, and the country has been racked by factional violence since.

It was unclear what the demands were or whether the hijacker was acting alone.

Muscat earier wrote on Twitter that "The #Afriqiyah flight from #Sabha to #Tripoli has been diverted and has landed in #Malta. Security services coordinating operations."

He added: "It has been established that #Afriqiyah flight has 111 passengers on board. 82 males, 28 females, 1 infant."

Libya's UN-backed government confirmed the hijacking and its forced diversion to Malta, Libya's state news agency LANA reported.

All passengers aboard the plane were in good health, an unnamed official at the Libyan foreign ministry told the agency.

"(Libyan) Foreign Minister Mohammed Sayala has immediately started intense contacts with his Maltese counterpart and the government there," the official added.

Security personnel took up positions a few hundred metres from the plane as it stood on the tarmac.

The aircraft's engines were running 45 minutes after it landed, the Times of Malta said. All other flights at Malta International Airport were cancelled or diverted, it said.

The aircraft had been flying from Sebha in southwest Libya to Tripoli for state-owned Afriqiyah Airways, a route that would usually take a little over two hours.

The tiny Mediterranean island of Malta is about 500 km north of the Libyan coast.

Passengers waiting in the departure lounge near the gates were being moved towards the open area by the Schengen Passport area.

The last major hijack incident in Malta took place in November 23, 1985, when an EgyptAir Boeing 737 plane was diverted to the island nation.

A 24-hour ordeal ended in a bloody massacre with 62 people dead when Egyptian commandos stormed the plane. Only one of the three hijackers survived and was brought to justice.

Forty three years ago then Prime Minster Dom Mintoff managed to negotiate the release of 247 passengers and eight air hostesses on board a Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet, which was also hijacked over Iraq and flown to Malta.

The passengers and air hostesses were released in return for fuel. The plane had been hijacked by Palestinian terrorists. The plane later left Malta and the hijackers eventually surrendered.

Earlier Report

Hijackers threaten to blow up Libyan plane diverted to Malta

Valletta, Dec 23 (AP): Two hijackers diverted a Libyan commercial plane to Malta today and threatened to blow it up with hand grenades, Maltese authorities and state media said.

The Malta airport authority said all emergency teams had been dispatched to the site of what it called an "unlawful interference" on the airport tarmac. The plane's engines were still running today long after the aircraft landed at 11:32 AM (0402 IST).

State television TVM said the two hijackers on board had hand grenades and had threatened to explode them. All flights into Malta International Airport have been diverted.

Airport officials said the Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 flight from Sabha, with original destination Tripoli, had 118 people on board: Maltese Premier Joseph Muscat said that included 111 passengers, 82 men, 28 women and an infant.

Muscat had tweeted earlier that there was a "potential hijack situation" involving an internal Libyan flight that was diverted to Malta and that emergency operations were underway at the airport.

Malta's National Security Committee was coordinating the operation, a government statement said.

Muscat's office confirmed that a negotiating team is on standby awaiting instructions from the prime minister, who is in a meeting with the National Security Committee.