Farah Waleed TRIPOLI — A Buraq airlines plane was shot at as it was landing at Tripoli International Airport Wednesday evening. A bullet pierced the hull of the aircraft, a Boeing 737, but no one was hurt. The plane, from Benghazi, landed safely. The bullet hit a water tank in the toilet that behind the cockpit, causing no injuries among the passengers or crew, sources at Tripoli airport said. There was no panic reported among 155 passengers on Flight UZ035 as none were aware of the incident. This incident resulted in a number of flights at the airport being canceled. Buraq canceled its flights but resumed operations Thursday morning. Fawzi Beltamr, Undersecretary at the Transport Ministry told the Libya Herald that the reason for what could have been a disaster and the source of the firing was as yet unknown but there would be an investigation. It is reported, however, that there was a wedding at the time in the village of Qasr Ben Ghashir next to the airport and that guests were shooting into the air in celebration. This is not the first time that there have been problems for aircraft as a result of celebratory gunfire. In December the captain of an Afriqiyah Airways flight from Benghazi had to abort a landing at Sebha because of wedding celebration shooting near the airport. — Libya Herald
