Sky-High Terror: The Story of the IC-814 Hijacking

On December 24, 1999, Indian Airlines flight IC 814 from Kathmandu to Delhi was hijacked. The incident became an eight-day ordeal for the nation. With the recent release of a Netflix docudrama, interest in the event has been renewed. PTI reporters covered the incident from multiple locations, providing crucial updates.

The sun had just set on a winter day when a grave situation started unfolding in the sky. Indian Airlines flight IC 814 from Kathmandu to Delhi was hijacked, a shocking event unknown to most but a handful of officials and reporters.

At 6 p.m. on December 24, 1999, a one-line flash from PTI broke the shocking news to the world, launching an eight-day ordeal that held the nation in suspense. This was an era before social media and live television; newspapers and TV channels relied entirely on news agencies for breaking news.

Interest in the hijacking has been reignited with the release of a Netflix docudrama. PTI is revisiting the sequence of reports filed in short bursts as new information emerged, showing how the blurry picture of the hijacking gradually became clear. Reporters from New Delhi, Kathmandu, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Islamabad, Lahore, London, and Dubai provided vital updates.

(With inputs from agencies.)