British hostages to arrive in London around 3am Eastern

April 5, 2007

Tehran, Iran - The 15 British service members held captive in Iran for nearly two weeks took off early Thursday on a British Airways commercial jet bound for London.

The 15 British service members held captive in Iran for nearly two weeks took off early Thursday on a British Airways commercial jet bound for London, according to Tehran's Mehrabad Airport flight information.

According to Tehran's airport information, the plane took off at 8:40 a.m. (1:10 a.m. ET).

The British Airways Web site listed the plane departing at 8:28 a.m. (12:58 a.m. ET).

The marines and sailors, who were released Wednesday after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "pardoned" them, will land in London around noon (7:05 a.m. ET) after a six-hour flight.

They were seen off by Britain's ambassador to Iran and other members of the British embassy at Tehran's airport, Iran's state-run IRIB network reported.