'Best selfie ever' with hijacker
March 30, 2016Ben 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.