Berlin police end hostage taking

Berlin police officers put a dramatic end to a kidnapping yesterday by storming the hijacked bus, rescuing two hostages unharmed and wounding the armed bank robber who had commandeered it.

Police commandos smashed their way through the rear windows of the double-decker, tossed in a stun grenade and shot the hijacker in the shoulder. He was not critically injured.

The hostages, a man and a uniformed policewoman on her way to work, were not harmed.

The drama began when two masked men, one brandishing a pistol, robbed a branch of Commerzbank in south-west Berlin, making off with about £7,500.

One robber leaped on to a passing bus and ordered it on a circuitous hour-long journey through the city. There were said to be about 20 passengers on board.

The driver escaped after stopping in the Schöneberg district. All but two hostages were freed when the police surrounded the vehicle.

The police were unable to confirm a report that the robber had accidentally shot himself in the leg while struggling with the policewoman, and that he had demanded a helicopter and a parachute. It was unclear what happened to the second robber.