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Man hijacks bus in Brazil
10/11/2006 17:07 - (SA)
Michael Astor
Rio De Janeiro - A man armed with a revolver was holding as many as 20 hostages in a hijacked bus on the outskirts of this city on Friday morning and was threatening to kill one of them, local media reported.
According to Globo News TV, the driver of the bus, who has been released, told police the gunman was threatening to kill his ex-wife, who was aboard the bus, and that he did not intend to leave the bus alive.
Federal highway police inspector Alexandre Motta told Globo News that there could be as many as 20 hostages inside the bus.
A police spokesperson who declined to be identified in accordance with department policy could not immediately confirm details except to say that a bus had been hijacked and that there was a hostage situation.
Passengers shut curtains
The gunman has released about 80 hostages from the bus since he seized it near the working class town of Nova Iguacu, according to Globo News.
The network aired live footage showing police cars surrounding the bus that was parked on a service road off the President Dutra highway leading out of the city.
The gunman had passengers shut the curtains of the bus and police had removed the air from the buses tires, reported the news agency.
According to the TV station, police were tipped off that a passenger who called his wife on a cellular telephone had hijacked the bus at 11:00. Police located the bus and pulled it over.
Botched rescue
Globo News reported that police were negotiating with the man and had brought in his pastor to help resolve the situation.
The incident recalls the Bus 174 standoff where a lone gunman held several passengers hostage for several hours in June 2000.
That incident in Rio's upscale Botanical Garden district was broadcast on live television for several hours until police moved in for a botched rescue that left one hostage dead.
Police later strangled the gunman in the police car as he was being taken to the station, alleging self-defence.
- SAPA
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