GUYANA Police are seeking international help to track down the four hijackers who took over a local small passenger aircraft in mid-air Wednesday and the Brazilian Ambassador here yesterday said federal authorities in Brazil have been able to determine the identities of the men.

The 13-seater Cessna Caravan was forced from over the Rupununi to land in Brazil where the hijackers fled and Brazilian Ambassador, Mr. Ney Do Prado Dieguez told the Chronicle federal authorities in his country have launched an investigation into the dramatic hijacking.

He said the men who took over the plane at gunpoint were known but declined to reveal their identities explaining that this could harm the investigation.

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

Two of these reportedly spoke Portuguese, while the other two spoke Spanish (one of these spoke a little English).

The passports they presented to Immigration officials at Lethem identified two as Colombians, one Brazilian and the other, Uruguayan, a source said.

The source said Police have contacted international channels for more details on the hijackers.

Dieguez said the Brazilian authorities were informed of the situation Wednesday and have since submitted a report containing confidential information.

He, however, said that according to reports, the men may be trying to enter Venezuela.

The four were among passengers on the Trans Guyana Airways Ltd. aircraft which Wednesday morning left Lethem on the border with Brazil for the Ogle airstrip, East Coast Demerara.

But shortly after takeoff pilot Captain Zaul Ramotar and the other passengers were traumatised when the hijackers pounced.

Passengers were tied up and the pilot ordered to fly to Brazil in an ordeal that stretched for almost four hours.

No one was injured in the hijacking and the nine passengers and pilot arrived safely at the Ogle airstrip just before nightfall Wednesday.

Many questions have since been raised about improved security measures as passengers expressed their concerns.

Director of Roraima Airways and President of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), Captain Gerry Gouveia has pointed out that the Guyana Aircraft Owners Association needs to sit down with security services to identify some serious plans to deal with such threats.

However, Ambassador Dieguez yesterday felt that security measures were not enough to prevent certain occurrences as he referred to the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.

He said while it was inevitable that measures will have to be put in place to deal with such threats to human life, these may not be sufficient to curb such incidents.

It was five minutes into the flight after leaving Lethem at about 08:20 hrs when four of the passengers drew what the others said appeared to be automatic handguns and informed them that they were taking over the 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 those 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; and British citizen, Mr. Barrie Burke.

The passengers were flown to Ogle on the Cessna and Ramotar returned on a separate aircraft.

The pilot yesterday recalled having to manage the aircraft with a gun pointed at him during the entire trip.

He recounted that about five minutes after takeoff the men took over urging him to concentrate because he had a number of lives in his hands.

He said two of the men were seated behind him and through the side of his eye, had noticed one of the men reaching for his gun and another doing the same thing.

A gun was pressed to the back of his neck while the passengers were informed that the four had taken over the flight and ordered to put their hands in the air.

Having to concentrate on flying the plane, Ramotar said he was unable to observe what was going on behind him but heard the men's orders and their caution to passengers that they will not be harmed.

Ramotar, who has been flying for about 13 years, said he and the passenger in the co-pilot's seat were asked if they had guns and replied in the negative. The passenger's hands were taped behind the seat, he said.

He said one of the men then gave him some coordinates to enter into the aircraft's Global Positioning System (GPS) - a unit that works with satellite equipment enabling pilots to fly and locate points of coordinates. Coordinates are figures of latitude and longitude that enable the pilot to locate a position on a map.

He said that during this time the aircraft was ascending and he was ordered to descend and fly as low as about 300 feet.

Following instructions, he started descending entering coordinates simultaneously with a faint idea that the plane may be headed for Brazil.

He described the man in command as being civil who mentioned occasionally to the passengers that they will not be harmed.

He, however, said he was still worried about what would transpire once they got to where the four were headed.

Ramotar said he had his registered 9mm pistol in his flight bag between his and the co-pilot's seats but the hijacker found and took it away.

He said that upon reaching the destination of coordinates nothing much was at that location and the man gesticulated to an area where there was what appeared to be an airstrip and a building close by. He was told to circle and landed on the airstrip where he taxied and parked next to the building.

The men disembarked except for one who was at the back and he replaced the other with the gun pointed at Ramotar.

They scouted the area and probably realising that no one was coming to meet them, returned to the plane after about 20 minutes.

Ramotar said he was made to circle the area again, once they were in the air and the man, evidently unsure whether they had landed at the right place deliberated with the others before informing him to land at the same airstrip.

Once on the ground again, the pilot said they were allowed to leave the plane, were freed of the masking tape and assured that they will not be harmed.

He said the men nevertheless seemed reluctant to let them go. He said one of them returned to the plane where he rummaged for a while before returning with a shoulder bag, Ramotar's gun, which he said he might need, and the aircraft's radio set.

He felt that the men may have been afraid to let them go for fear that the Police may be alerted before they made their escape.

They were later allowed to leave and Ramotar said he checked the plane for signs of sabotage before takeoff.

He later contacted Lethem with the use of a hand radio and advised authorities there of the situation.

But before they could have crossed the border into Guyana the plane was intercepted by a Brazilian military aircraft which questioned what they were doing in Brazilian airspace.

With the help of Melville who spoke Portuguese they were able to communicate with the Brazilians while circling over Bom Fin on the Brazil side of the border since Ramotar said he did not want them thinking he was trying to avoid them.

The plane was then escorted to the border where Ramotar landed at Lethem.

He said he was surprised when the men drew guns since he had never experienced such a thing and it was not expected.

He said he tried to remain calm as did the others and adhered to the hijackers' commands which he said were firm though not threatening.

According to Ramotar, security measures at the airlines definitely need to be addressed and noted that the relevant authorities should look into it and find ways of screening passengers.

He said there are many locations including Mahdia and Orinduik where there are no stringent security checks on passengers.

Coincidentally, Ramotar was due for annual leave from today which he said was much needed.

"I did not take anything for granted. I had no idea what was going to happen", he said.