'Hostage' drama a fiction

News of an apparent hostage drama at a small international airport near Pretoria was broadcast around the world on Tuesday.

But the incident turned out to be a training exercise, according to the South African Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi.

Journalists rushed to the scene after reports that nine people were being held by an armed man on a plane.

"I don't know how you found out about it. You have been led on a wild goose chase," Mr Selebi told reporters.

Police and emergency service workers were not aware that it was an exercise and briefed reporters on the assumption that the incident was real.