Hostages eat, drink, play chess and wait

“We went on board to repair a few things and the hijackers did not seem to notice us for about five minutes,” said one aviation official who declined to be identified.

He said conditions were not as bad as had been feared. The passengers appeared in a reasonable condition after their ordeal and were finding ways to kill time.

Chess, cards, music from the in-flight entertainment system and personal stereos, food and sleep were the main ways the hostages whiled away the hours, one Afghan official said. By his account, corroborated byIndian and Taliban officials, the more than 150 hostages have been allowed to sit where they want on the aircraft instead of being confined to alternate rows in the rear of the plane.

Passengers have been allowed to take off the blindfolds they were forced to wear after the plane was diverted at gunpoint on a flight to New Delhi on Friday. “No, they are not wearing blindfolds anymore and can move freely around the plane and mingle and talk,” said an Indian diplomat who flew to Kandahar from New Delhi on Monday. Meals are served through the day and have been tailored to cater to vegetarians. Meals are accompanied by unfermented green Afghan tea. “They get beans and rice, the Hindus and vegetarians, and the others get lamb, some greens,” the official said.

The official said the hijackers carried automatic pistols and grenades and seemed to be near the front of the plane, possibly because negotiations are being conducted over the cockpit radio with an Indian team on another aircraft.

The 57-strongIndian delegation brought foodstuffs, spareparts for the plane and medicine for the passengers, who are said to include two cancer patients needing treatment as well as women and children.

Temperatures outside the plane vary from sub-zero at night to baking during the day, necessitating the repair yesterday of the engine that powers the ventilation system.

“When the passengers woke up today, heavy frost had formed on the airstrip and adjacent fields, but by mid-day it was starting to get really hot,” one Afghan at the scene said.