In the autumn of 1985, Ma³gorzata Potocka, together with her dance group Sabat and singer Wojciech Gąssowski, signed a contract for performances during the cruise of the passenger ship Achille Lauro. The voyage started in the port of Genoa, and the route led along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. On October 7, the ship was docked in Port Said, Egypt, and terrorists took over control on board.
Gąssowski and Potocka were held hostage by terrorists on a hijacked ship
Originally, four members of the pro-Iraqi faction of the Palestine Liberation Front wanted to sail the Achille Lauro to Ashdod in Israel. However, they changed their plans when one of the crew members entered their cabin without knocking, because he brought them lunch. It was also then that he caught them cleaning their weapons – that’s when the bombers decided to hijack the ship.
– Terrible noise, everyone screaming, shooting. And the captain says over the loudspeaker: Listen, there is a terrorist attack, there are terrorists on the ship. You all get up, don’t make any panic, because if you panic, they’ll kill us all. They threw us under the tables, shouted at us that if you move, there will be fire right away. They shot at our sailor, blood was flowing, he had half a leg. They kept us there long enough that we couldn’t go to the toilet – and in an interview with “Dzień Dobry TVN”
The hijackers demanded the release of 50 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. When their demands were not met, around 3 p.m. they killed one of the hostages with shots to the head and chest, and then threw his body into the sea. It was an American of Jewish descent – 69-year-old millionaire Leon Klinghoffer, who moved in a wheelchair.
The rest of the hostages were told that they would also die. – This time passed very, very slowly – recalls Gąssowski in an interview with TVN. He admits, however, that he managed to get permission from the captors to bring some clothes from the cabin for himself and other hostages. Then he heard that he could only go through the main corridor because the ship was mined. He was given five minutes and he made it.
Fearing the intervention of the anti-terrorist unit, the hijackers decided to return to Port Said on October 8 – the passengers were then released. Based on these events, the movie “The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro” was made in 1989. The role of the shot Leon Klinghoffer was played by Karl Malden. In turn, in 1990, the TV movie “Voyage of Terror – The Achille Lauro Affair” was made – this time Burt Lancaster played Klinghoffer.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
