The airplane had been hijacked by three Ethiopians seeking asylum in Australia and finally crashed due to fuel exhaustion. The hijackers were Alemayehu Bekeli Belayneh, Mathias Solomon Belay and Sultan Ali Hussein. 125 of the 175 passengers and crew on board, including the three hijackers, died. Many passengers died because they inflated their life jackets in the cabin, causing them to be trapped inside by the rising water. A tourist recorded a video of the crash. She said that she had begun taping because she initially believed that the 767 formed a part of an air show for tourists.