A TRANS Guyana Airline (TGA) flight which left Lethem for Georgetown early yesterday morning, arrived at the Ogle Airstrip about eight hours later after it was hijacked by four passengers on board.

No one was hurt during the mid-air takeover of TGA's 8R-GTG Cessna Caravan aircraft since the other nine passengers said they followed instructions and remained calm though having no idea of the men's intentions.

"They did not threaten life or limb. We just did what they told us to do", passenger, Mr. Peter Fraser, owner of the C&F Meat Centre in Georgetown, recounted at the Ogle Airstrip late yesterday afternoon.

He told reporters it was remembered that when in such situations, one should follow instructions.

Fraser, who said he was still shaken, and 12 other passengers along with pilot, Zaul Ramotar, boarded the aircraft at about 08:20 hours at Lethem.

Five minutes into the flight, four of the passengers drew what passengers said appeared to be automatic handguns, and informed them that they were taking over the plane.

The men were identified as Colombians and Brazilians based on their speech.

A source at the Takutu Guest House in Lethem, where the men stayed Tuesday night, said they checked in the hotel as Raimundo DeSouza, Raimundo Pedro, Clovef Sauta, and Ramon Torres.

The source recalled that one of the men had passed through the area before.

She said they did not look suspicious from when they checked in at about 17:30 hrs Tuesday to when they departed early yesterday morning.

They appeared to be friendly except for one who kept to himself, she said.

Employees at the hotel were reportedly shocked when they heard the news that these men who seemed harmless the night before had hijacked a plane.

The men apparently went into Lethem from Brazil and told immigration officials they were to fly to Ogle on their way to Suriname.

Among others on board the Cessna were two officials of the World Bank, Mr. James Droop and Mr. Keith McLean, here for a few weeks; Parliamentarian, Ms. Shirley Melville; Mr. Paul Dhanraj; Canadians, Mr. William Dilden, Mr. Donald McNabb and Mr. Robert Eric Foster, British citizen, Mr. Barrie Burke.

Droop said the situation could have been serious and was thankful that they returned okay.

Ramotar, who was flown to Ogle on a separate aircraft at about 16:30 hrs, was up to last night being questioned by Police.

The passengers were returned to Ogle on the hijacked plane by another pilot, Captain Dominic Mendes.

Burke, a retired British Army official, said the ordeal was frightening.

He is here on tour since Saturday and is expected to leave Sunday and had definitely not expected to experience a mid-air attack.

He recalled that he and another tourist went to Lethem yesterday after visiting several other areas in Guyana and had joined the plane to return to Georgetown.

He said about five minutes after takeoff, four armed men said they were taking over, two of whom were sitting behind the pilot and two at the back of the plane.

The passengers were told to put their hands up, were bound with masking tape and told to shut up.

No one reportedly got hysterical or tried to give the men a 'hard time' but followed instructions though Burke said they were not told of the men's plans.

He said the one in charge spoke little English though he did not say much and simply ordered them not to look at him.

No one seemed to be able to give a good description of the men who hijacked the plane.

Burke said the pilot was ordered to fly low (just about 400 feet) and was later told to land at a farmland in Brazil where the passengers remained on board for about 20 minutes.

The hijackers scouted the area probably looking for some way to conclude the other leg of the journey, he felt.

They boarded the plane again and the pilot was told to circle a few times before being ordered to land again at the same location.

They were then told to disembark and were taken to a ranch house where one of the men explained that he was in some trouble but was not a murderer and would not harm them.

He told them they were allowed to go and they calmly returned to the plane and left, only to be pursued shortly after by a Brazilian military jet since they had no authorisation to be in Brazilian territory.

"All we lost was time. We were allowed to go and we are very happy about that", Burke stated.

He said he was relieved at a happy ending recalling that the men were armed with three black and a silver guns.

He also recalled that at one point in the journey, one of the men took out a parcel containing a white substance which he showed to the others. He was carrying it in a pouch he had.

Burke recounted that about six minutes after they were allowed to take off, the Brazilian military aircraft pursued the Cessna, first trailing behind and then beneath.

Passengers managed to make hand signals to the pilot who pointed to the radio set.

Melville said she approached the pilot to communicate with the Brazilians, since she was the only person on board who could speak Portuguese.

She said she was able to speak to the military jet and explained that they had a problem with the flight since it was hijacked and was making its way back to Guyana.

"We were in a bit of suspense because we wanted to communicate with the people and that is why I decided to go to the pilot and do so", she said.

The pilot was told to land in Brazil but explained that he was running low on fuel. During this time the two planes were circling in Brazil.

The pilot was then escorted to the border and landed the plane at Lethem.

The drama in the air between the two aircraft was witnessed by residents in Lethem who said it lasted about 15 minutes.

Melville said they were escorted to the border where she sent a resident of Bom Fin to the military on the Brazilian side of the border to explain what had transpired since the military jet was still circling and they probably wanted to know what was happening.

"...we definitely need better security on our border. We know we do not have the manpower to do so but they always have been able to implement systems whereby we could work. And most likely we could have a task force from the Brazilian side also", she said.

She added that this was especially needed with the bridge across the border Takutu River coming on stream.

Referring to notices at the Trans Guyana Airline concerning passenger checks and other safety measures, Melville said security was definitely lacking.

"...all four persons had their firearms with them this morning", she stated.

The pilot was, however, commended by passengers for handling the situation excellently.

The Guyana aircraft returned to Lethem just before noon after it was reportedly taken some 100 miles off course, somewhere near the border between Colombia and Brazil.

Sources said the hijackers immobilised the radio set aboard the aircraft and took away from the pilot a firearm he had.

While the aircraft was flying back to Lethem, Ramotar used another radio set the hijackers did not detect and alerted the Trans-Guyana agent at Lethem that he was returning.

Captain Roy Jainandan of Trans Guyana, told reporters at Ogle earlier yesterday the plane had initially been treated as missing because there was a period in which the company lost track of it with a break in communication.

As a result two of the company's aircraft were sent on a search and rescue flight and were joined by a Guyana Defence Force plane.

He said the hijackers had their own navigational equipment to monitor the course of the plane to ensure the pilot was following their directions.

He said the hijackers became somewhat agitated after the aircraft landed at a homestead location in Brazil, because they seemed to have been uncertain they had arrived at their intended destination.

Jainandan hoped that those responsible for "an act of piracy" will be dealt with "alacrity and severity."

He said his company was willing to play its part in ensuring there was adequate security, but pointed out that the effort has to be a collaborative one between the Government and the airlines.

He said Trans Guyana has applied for permission to build a terminal facility at Lethem which will house the relevant security personnel. (With reporting by Chamanlall Naipaul)