Bonnici claimed that these unauthorized explosions caused the internal plastic of the plane to catch fire, causing widespread suffocation. However, the "Times of Malta", quoting sources at the airport on the day, held that when the hijackers realized that they were being attacked, they lobbed hand grenades into the passenger area, killing people and starting the fire aboard. The storming of the aircraft killed 54 of the remaining 87 passengers, as well as two crew members and one hijacker. Only one hijacker — Omar Rezaq, who had survived — remained undetected by the Maltese government. The terrorist leader, who was injured during the storming of the aircraft, had removed his hood and ammunition and pretended to be an injured passenger. Egyptian commandos tracked Rezaq to St. Luke's General Hospital and, holding the doctors and medical staff at gunpoint, entered the casualty ward looking for him. He was arrested when some of the passengers in the hospital recognized him.  58 of the 95 passengers and crew had died, as well as two of the three hijackers, by the time the crisis was over. Maltese medical examiners estimated that eight passengers were shot dead by the commandos. Rezaq faced trial in Malta, but with no anti-terrorism legislation, he was tried on other charges. There was widespread fear that terrorists would hijack a Maltese plane or carry out a terrorist attack in Malta as an act of retribution. Rezaq received a 25-year sentence, of which he served eight. His release caused a diplomatic incident between Malta and the U.S. because Maltese law strictly prohibited trying a person twice, in any jurisdiction, on charges connected to the same series of events (having wider limitations compared to classic double jeopardy). Following his immediate expulsion on release, he was captured on arrival in Nigeria. After three months he was handed over to the U.S., brought before a U.S. court and, on 7 October 1996, sentenced to life imprisonment with a no-parole recommendation. In his 1989 book "Massacre in Malta", John A. Mizzi wrote:  Mizzi added:  Mizzi also mentioned how Maltese soldiers positioned in the vicinity of the aircraft were equipped with rifles but were not issued ammunition. An Italian secret service report on the incident showed how the fire inside the aircraft was caused by the Egyptian commandos who placed explosives in the aircraft cargo hold, the most vulnerable part of the aircraft, as it held the oxygen tanks which blew up.