Hostage situation unfolds at Hamburg Airport

The Hamburg Airport has become the site of a tense hostage situation after an armed man broke through the barricades and fired two rounds in the air. According to reports from the German Police all flights have been cancelled since Saturday night and citizens have been asked to steer clear of the area.

Authorities have also stated that the man’s wife had contacted them earlier regarding a child abduction case. Apparently, the man aged 35, had his daughter aged 4, in the car with him.

He is said to have taken the girl by force from her mother, owing to a possible custody battle between them. The Airport has been evacuated and a psychologist has been brought in to act as a hostage negotiator.

Police officials took to Twitter stating the following, “We must currently assume that he is in possession of a live firearm and possibly also explosive devices of an unknown type. Our top priority is to protect the child. According to our current knowledge, the child is physically well.”

Reports suggest that the girl’s mother has been brought to the airport and is receiving psychological support as well.

Malte Stueben, the Head of the German Red Cross Crisis Intervention Team in Hamburg, spoke to local media, stating that, “The mother naturally wants to get to her child as quickly as possible.”

A pediatrician has been brought in and put on standby, to ensure the child’s health and safety, once the crisis is resolved.

The authorities have tended to the travelers who have been affected by the crisis as well, following the cancellation of 126 flights by Sunday morning. 5 planes had to be rerouted, thousands of travelers have faced delays and hundreds have been put up in hotels in Hamburg.