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Philippine Hijacker Found Buried In Mud

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COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, WORLD NEWS: A man who jumped from a plane in the Philippines after robbing the passengers is dead. Soldiers found the man's body about 70 kilometers east of Manila.

For more details, we are joined now by CNN's Atika Shubert in Manila. Atika?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Colleen, Quezon province police did confirm that they have found the body of the man they believe hijacked Philippines Airlines Flight 812 yesterday. His driver's license identified him as Reginald Chua, a resident of Suridad del Norte (ph). That's a province of the southern Philippine Mindanao region.

He also carried with him a resident certificate under the name Augusto Lakandula, the same name he used to board Flight PR 812. They did not find a ticket, though, indicating that he did board the flight.

Police believe that Chua died as a result of his parachute failing to open after he jumped from the back of the plane at approximately 6,000 feet. The unopened parachute was found about a kilometer away from the body. Police also found near the body two unspent .22 caliber bullets and about 1,400 pesos in cash. That's about $25.

Police did not find any sign of the grenade or the pistol that passengers say Chua used to threaten the cabin crew. They also did not find any of the cash that the crew collected from passengers before Chua jumped from the plane. The body itself was found embedded in the ground, and they were only able to discover the body by seeing his hand sticking out up from the mud.

Colleen?

MCEDWARDS: Atika, what have passengers described in terms of exactly what happened on that plane and what might or might not have motivated this?

SHUBERT: Well, passengers described a very disturbed man who rushed into the cockpit, accidentally firing a shot in that area. There was no direct communication between the hijacker and the passengers. All communications were between pilot and cabin crew.

Pilots have made statements saying that the man seemed very disturbed. He did not make any immediate demands. He seemed to be demanding money as well as indicating that he had family problems, indicated that his wife had left him, and for that reason, he needed money and was taking out his frustration on the pilots and hijacking the plane.

But he seemed to be very confused, and there did not seem to be any organized demand on his part. It was the pilot that indicated that perhaps if they gave him money the man would leave the plane. Colleen?

MCEDWARDS: All right. Atika Shubert, thanks.

END

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