An armed hijacker gave himself up to German police today after commandeering a city bus and holding its passengers hostage during a pursuit through northern Germany, police said.
All the passengers were freed unharmed. The drama ended after several hours of negotiations between police and the hijacker, who had stopped the vehicle on a motorway near Hildesheim, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Bremen where it had been hijacked earlier.
A special police unit was reported to have stormed the bus, at which point the gunman gave himself up.
By that stage there were only six hostages left on board as he had gradually released the rest.
Police said the man was aged 20 to 25 and of southern European appearance, possibly Turkish.
His motive was not immediately clear. A police spokesman indicated some of his demands had a political element, but gave no further details.
The bus was hijacked at around 9.20 a.m. (local time) in Bremen, initially with 18 people on board including a number of children.
Three either fled or were released in Bremen, while another passenger with heart problems was allowed to leave after the bus stopped near Hanover.
Another eight hostages were released in several batches during negotiations with police.
Television pictures earlier showed the bus being driven steadily along the motorway, with the gunman sitting directly behind the driver and the hostages in the back.
AFP