Updated 7.35pm

Four men jumped out of a plane that had just made an emergency landing at Malta International Airport on New Year’s Day, sparking a police and Armed Forces of Malta manhunt.

Two of the men were subsequently arrested while two remained on the run as of 7.30pm, a police spokesperson confirmed.

The incident occurred at around 1.45pm when a Turkish Airlines flight heading to Morocco requested permission to land in Malta as a passenger was feeling unwell.

Shortly after the plane landed and while crews were working to retrieve the sick passenger’s suitcase, four other passengers made a quick getaway from the plane’s rear door. They leapt to the runway and then escaped out of sight.

Police and the Armed Force of Malta were both alerted and a manhunt got under way.

The man who reported feeling ill, a Moroccan national, was taken to Mater Dei Hospital while under arrest.

The Turkish Airlines flight then continued its journey to Morocco.