GENEVA, February 17 (RAPSI) – The co-pilot of an Ethiopian Airlines flight that was forced to ground in Geneva Monday morning has been detained by Swiss police, The Guardian reports.

According to the report, the co-pilot took control of the airplane while the pilot was using the restroom, and then escaped through a window upon landing. The co-pilot asked to be granted asylum, The Guardian reported citing Swiss police.

Ethiopian Airline posted a brief press release confirming that a flight that departed from the Ethiopian capital shortly after midnight Monday morning was “forced to proceed to Geneva Airport.”

According to the press release, all passengers and crew are safe, and operations are already underway to ensure that they will arrive safely at their destinations.

Meanwhile, confusion remains as the story unfolds.

Redwan Hussein, referred to as a spokesperson for the Ethiopian government, told Reuters prior to the detention announcement that the flight had stopped in Khartoum, Sudan earlier where he speculated that the assailant or assailants may have boarded.

Redwan Hussein, referred to in this case as Ethiopia’s information minister, told The New York Times that more than one hijacker had carried out the seizure, and that they had not yet been identified nor had their intentions yet been discerned.

Again referred to as Ethiopia’s Information Minister, Redwan Hussein told AFP referred to the attacker in the singular – saying that it was not yet known who the hijacker was, but that Ethiopia’s ambassador to Geneva was on the case.