Story Highlights • Passenger plane hijacked from Mauritania in West Africa
• Plane lands at airport in Canary Islands, territory of Spain
• One person arrested, government reports
• Earlier reports say gunfire occurs
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LAS PALMAS, Spain (Reuters) -- The hijacking of an Air Mauritania plane Thursday ended in the Canary Islands, a Spanish government official told RNE national radio.
An Air Mauritania Boeing 737 passenger plane with 71 passengers and eight crew members aboard was hijacked after takeoff from the airport in Nouakchott, Mauritania's capital, Mauritanian officials said.
A single suspect was arrested, Spanish media said. Emergency services earlier said several people had been wounded by gunfire. No further details were immediately available.
"Fortunately the hijacking incident has ended favorably," Jose Segura, a government representative in the Canary Islands, told RNE.
Earlier, a police officer at Nouakchott airport said the plane had been hijacked on a flight to the northern Mauritania port town of Nouadhibou and had flown instead to Dakhla in Western Sahara to take on fuel.
The Canary Islands, off the northwest coast of Africa, are a territory of Spain.
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A hijacked Air Mauritania Boeing 737 passenger plane has landed on Spain's Canary Islands after making a fuel stop in Western Sahara, officials in Mauritania said today. It was hijacked after the takeoff from the Nouakchott airport.

While on the plane, the man demanded it to be flown to France to seek asylum.

The 71 passengers and eight person crew were let out when the hijacker landed the plane in Las Palmas. Several people were wounded by a gun and the suspect was arrested.

Reports say that it is unconfirmed as to what the man's motive was. Mauritanian police are still investigating.