CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: At least 150 people are still hostage on board a hijacked Afghan airliner near London. They've been on the plane since Sunday and they could be on board for days longer while British authorities negotiate. CNN's Richard Blystone is at Stansted Airport and he joins us now by telephone with the latest -- Richard.</s>RICHARD BLYSTONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, I'm unable to be with you live at this moment because a gale is howling out of the west and driving rain is preventing us from making our picture. However, from a more secure position, you can see the Afghan airliner on the runway, and inside, we're told, everybody is as all right as can be expected: the negotiations with the hostage -- between the hijackers and the authorities businesslike, the atmosphere aboard calm, and the treatment of the hostages, according to some who were released yesterday, has been good. The biggest question is about the hijackers: Who are they? How many? How are they are they armed? And what, especially, do they want? The police are unwilling to give us any details on any of that. They have been talking with them now for more than a day. They say the talks are going well, but they refuse to give out any details of those talks. They say that a wide range of subjects has been covered, and it seems pretty clear that what happens next has to be one of those. What will happen to the hijackers? Well, we can tell you one thing that we know is that, in Britain today, there are at least seven former hijackers walking around in society. Six of them gave up their plane after a hijacking in August 1996. They had to go to jail but were released on an appeal on the grounds that they were driven to do what they did. That is the same reason, we're told, for the release of a man who was involved in a 1982 hijacking. So, that is one thing that the authorities could be explaining to those hijackers, whoever they are -- Carol.</s>LIN: All right, Richard Blystone weathering the conditions out at Stansted outside of London.
At least 150 Hostages Remain Aboard Hijacked Afghan Airliner as British Authorities Continue Negotiations