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Ferry hijacking ends, Cuban government says
HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- Cuban authorities have ended a standoff with the hijackers of a Cuban ferry, state-owned Cuban television reported Friday. The television report said military officials boarded the ship Thursday and freed the hostages without firing "a single shot." The report also indicated that everyone aboard jumped into the water. The ferry was hijacked Wednesday and was forced to sail into the Straits of Florida with at least 30 men, women and children aboard, sources told CNN. A Cuban television report Friday, referring to what it called "the operation to liberate the hostages," did not indicate what happened to the hijackers or hostages and did not mention that President Fidel Castro visited the Port of Mariel, where the freed ferry was towed, Thursday. Cuban TV reported the operation began about 1 p.m. Thursday and ended about three hours later. The Cuban government estimated there were about eight or 10 hijackers, and described them as very violent, according to a written statement. Earlier Thursday, the Cuban government said the hijackers released three people -- two women and a man -- because of their physical conditions. The statement also said the hijackers were refusing to give up their position and demanded to have the vessel refueled so they could sail to the United States. The Cuban government had said it would use force if the hostages' conditions became critical, the statement added. Cuban television said it will air a special program about this and other recent hijackings Friday night. Shortly after the boat was hijacked Wednesday, the Cuban government alerted U.S. authorities, and the FBI sent hostage negotiators to the area where the ferry was drifting. The vessel then moved slowly northeast, about 60 miles from Key West, Florida. Key West is about 90 miles from Cuba. The ferry was towed to Port Mariel, Cuba, with the consent of the hijackers, who feared big waves in the open sea could capsize the boat, the Cuban government statement said. The ferry incident was the third hijacking reported in the past two weeks. A Cuban Air plane was hijacked to Key West Tuesday. Another government-airline plane was hijacked to Key West last week. Both planes remain at Key West International Airport. No one was hurt in either incident. -- CNN National Correspondent Susan Candiotti and Tony Valdez in the CNN Havana Bureau contributed to this report
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