Muscat said an initial group of 25 women and children released from the plane were quickly followed by nearly all of the 118 people on board the Airbus A320 jet.

He further added that potentially two hijackers and some crew members are still on board the aircraft.

He gave information about the passengers’ release in a series of tweets:

A man who said he was armed with a grenade hijacked a Libyan plane which landed on Malta Friday with 118 people on board. The Airbus A320 had been on a domestic Libyan route operated by Afriqiyah Airways from Sabha in southern Libya to the capital Tripoli but was re-routed.

“It has been established that Afriqiyah flight has 111 passengers on board: 82 males, 28 females, 1 infant,” Muscat had said. There are also seven crew members.

Muscat later spoke to Libya’s prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj, the head of the north African country’s fledgling unity government.