How To Save Lives / 救人

　　On 27 June, 1975,  an Air France flight, bound from Athens to Paris, was hijacked by 10 terrorists not more than 10 minutes after its takeoff. The terrorists then diverted the flight from place to place, and finally to Entebbe Airport in Uganda. They held those 103 passengers hostage in the old terminal of Entebbe Airport as their bargaining chips.

　　Within the few days later, the Israeli government acted as they could fulfill the terrorists'  requests while covertly planning a rescue operation. Then a team of a hundred Israeli Special Forces members flew to the Entebbe Airport at night. Without the permission for using the airport of the Uganda's government- who was said to be supporting the terrorists - they were forced to engage the Ugandan Army in battle. Still, they took only 30 minutes to kill all six hijackers and 45 Ugandan soldiers and rescued all but one of the hostages. A rescuer was also killed though.

　　On 24 December, 1994, Air France Flight 8969 was hijacked by the Armed Islamic Group. The French government ordered to negotiated with the hijackers while they sent a team of GIGN (The National Gendarmerie Intervention Group) to the airport to be on call. After two-day standoff, three hostages were executed and the GIGN therefore immediately leapt into action.

　　Using three staircase units, the GIGN stormed into the flight from the front and the back doors. While there was a gun battle between the GIGN members and hijackers in the cockpit, the other GIGN members rescued the hostages in the rear of the flight. It took only a few minutes for GIGN to free most of the passengers from the hijacking. After they fire off thousands of rounds, all four hijackers were killed while none of the hostages was during the assault. Only 13 passengers and 9 of the GIGN members received injuries.

　　On 4 April, 2003, an armed men hijacked a bus and took the passengers hostage after a bank robbery in Berlin. The police sent a group of SEK(Spezialeinsatzkommandos, the German SWAT team) to chase the hijacker. They first forced the vehicle stop, then attacked. In only a few second, they broke the window, smashed in the vehicle, injured the hijacker by shot and rescued two hostages who were both unhurt.

　　On 4 April again, 2009, four Somali pirates captured an American captain in a lifeboat which was under an American destroyer's supervision. The U.S President authorized the Navy to take action if it was determined the hostage's life was in immediate danger. So, after dark, when it seemed the pirates were about to kill the captain, the commander immediately ordered "open fire". The Navy SEALs snipers pulled the triggers three times, all bull's-eye, three of the pirates fell down, and the fourth surrendered.

　　On 24 August, 2010, we were grieved.

　　1976年6月27日，法航(Air France)一架飛機從希臘雅典起飛，原定飛往法國巴黎，但起飛不到10分鐘，就被10名恐怖份子騎劫。飛機輾轉飛到烏干達的恩德培國際機場，恐怖分子把103名人質關在機場的舊客運站樓，以之為籌碼，向以國政府交涉。

　　其後數日，以國政府表面上接受恐怖分子條件，暗地裡卻部署營救行動。近百名特種部隊登上飛機，夜襲恩德培機場。因為營救過程未得包庇歹徒的烏干達政府允許，所以營救部隊還要對上烏干達軍隊，但他們只花了三十分鐘，就殺掉45名烏干達士兵和全部6名劫機者，成功救出102名人質，誤殺一人，以軍則損失一員。

　　1994年12月24日，法航8969號班機被武裝分子騎劫，法國政府一邊與他們談判，一邊派出著名的法國國家憲兵特勤隊(GIGN)到機場戒備。談判疆持兩天，武裝分子殺掉3名人質，特勤隊覺情況危急，馬上行動。

　　特勤隊分乘三台登機車，突襲前倉門及後倉門，前倉特勤隊員與駕駛倉的歹徒駁火，同時另一批隊員從後倉救出乘客。不到幾分鐘，大部份乘客已經逃出飛機，特勤隊員續與歹徒交火上千發，把4名劫機者殺死。突擊過程中全部人質生還，僅有13人加上9名特勤員受傷。

　　2003年4月11日，柏林發生銀行械劫案，劫匪搶去一架巴士逃亡並挾乘客作人質。當局派出特警隊SKE追捕犯人，他們先截停巴士，後攻堅救人，只花幾秒就從車外破窗而入，劫匪中槍受傷被捕，人質毫髮無傷。

　　2009年，也是4月11日，四名索馬里海盜在小艇上挾持一名美藉船長，美軍派來驅逐艦在旁監視，並與海盜談判。總統下令人質若命懸一線，則對海盜格殺勿論。結果入黑後，指揮官見海盜有所動作，即下令海豹部隊狙擊手開槍，開了三槍，彈不虛發，三個海盜應聲倒下，第四人則舉手投降。

　　2010年8月23日，聞者感愴。


註：本文於2010年8月25日寫成，成文前兩天，即2010年8月23日，發生了馬尼拉人質慘劇。事件中菲律賓警員門多薩挾持了一部載滿港人的旅遊車，當地警方接報前來營救，但手法劣拙，最終8名人質命喪他鄉。