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Talk about being self-absorbed. A passenger aboard the hijacked EgyptAir flight that was forced to divert to Cyprus by a reportedly love-sick man wearing a fake explosive belt decided he wanted to take a selfie … with the hijacker!
If that wasn’t bizarre enough on its own, the hijacker agreed.
With the plane still on the runway, Ben Innes, a 26-year-old health and safety auditor from England, told The Sun that he was “trying to stay cheerful in the face of adversity.”
“I got one of the cabin crew to translate for me and asked if I could do a selfie with him,” Innes said of the hijacker who was later identified as Seif Eldin Mustafa.
“He just shrugged OK, so I stood by him and smiled for the camera while a stewardess did the snap,” he said. “It has to be the best selfie ever!”
And did he ever smile.
Ben Innes from #Aberdeen poses for a picture with #EgyptAir #MS181 hijacker. pic.twitter.com/ywdGYuDWwm
— Paul Smith (@Journo_Paul) March 29, 2016
“I’m not sure why I did it,” Innes said afterwards.
“I just threw caution to the wind while trying to stay cheerful in the face of adversity,” he added. “I figured if his bomb was real, I’d nothing to lose anyway, so took a chance to get a closer look at it.”
Mustafa was arrested in Cyprus and all passengers and crew were safe, according to government officials.
The reaction on social media was highly critical of Innes, although one user said he was “brilliant” in that his actions may have alerted authorities to who and what they were up against.
Here’s a sampling of responses from Twitter.
@Journo_Paul photo bombing at its finest… too soon? #EgyptHijack
— Andrew (@andrewfoodie) March 29, 2016
@Journo_Paul @suthernx Ordinary people dealing with life …
— Jim Latta (@JLMusicTherapy) March 30, 2016
@Journo_Paul could of ironed his shirt
— Worsy (@worsy1) March 29, 2016
@Journo_Paul @skysports_bryan what a dickhead
— Jamie Whiting (@JwWhiting) March 29, 2016
@Journo_Paul most adorable hijacker ever
— Dipesh P (@dipeshp) March 29, 2016
@Journo_Paul This big guy couldnt take him out?
— Gina Cav (@Jbjgirl10) March 29, 2016
@Journo_Paul Because what you want to do is idolize the terrorist. This kid had one too many participation awards. pic.twitter.com/4JpNAqppSn
— Michael Roman (@simplyshowbiz) March 30, 2016
@Journo_Paul lmao, he should have taken a second one where he was pretending to scream in terror
— Todd (@ToddAOden) March 30, 2016
@Journo_Paul brilliant – he showed the authorities on the ground exactly what and who they were dealing with.
— moominmama (@TheDianaPeek) March 30, 2016
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The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
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