The tense hostage situation at Hamburg Airport came to a conclusion this afternoon, concluding an 18-hour ordeal after a man forcefully entered the airport grounds with his four-year-old
daughter in his vehicle, as reported by authorities.
Hamburg police announced the successful resolution on their Twitter account, stating, "The hostage situation is now resolved. The suspect has exited the vehicle with his daughter, and the child appears to be unharmed."
They also noted that the man was apprehended by emergency services without offering resistance.
The airport in the northern German city had remained closed to passengers, and flights had been canceled since Saturday night, when the armed individual breached an airport gate with his vehicle and fired shots into the air, according to Germany's DPA news agency.
Authorities disclosed that the man's wife had previously alerted them about a potential child abduction.
A psychologist was engaged in negotiations with the man for 18 hours, and no injuries were reported during the standoff, as all passengers had been safely evacuated from the airport, according to the police.
The mother of the abducted girl arrived at the airport this morning, receiving psychological support, as reported by the German news agency DPA.
A pediatrician also made his way to the airport to provide care for the girl once the hostage situation had been resolved.
Over 100 flights were canceled, and several planes had to be rerouted. Thousands of travelers were impacted by the standoff, with hundreds accommodated in nearby hotels. Photo by flightlog, Wikimedia commons.