Two police officers have received high awards for their heroic efforts in foiling a hijacking attempt in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on June 29, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said July 4.

Meng Jianzhu, state councilor and minister of the MPS, signed an order for second-rank law enforcement heroism medals for police officers Lu Maopeng of the public security bureau of Hotan Prefecture and Turghun Rozeniyaz of Hotan's Luopu County.

The two officers, along with another three officers, were on flight GS7554 on June 29 when six people, armed with aluminum pipes and explosive devices, attempted to break into the cockpit, using their weapons to threaten and beat crew members and passengers.

Lu, Rozeniyaz and the other three officers took action, overwhelming the hijackers with the help of the crew and passengers.

The other three policemen have also been honored by the MPS. Eziz Metusun from Luopu and Memeteli Dawut from Hotan received personal first-class awards of merit, while Muhtar Qirem from Luopu received a personal second-class award of merit.

(Xinhua News Agency July 4, 2012)