Image: (APA/AFP/FABRICE COFFRINI)
The 32-year-old hostage taker was shot dead by the police. According to police, all 15 hostages were fine.
The hostage-taking was reported at around 6.35 p.m. near Essert-sous-Champvent. The perpetrator was probably a 32-year-old asylum seeker of Iranian nationality who was assigned to the canton of Neuchâtel. According to police, his identity has yet to be confirmed.
Armed with an ax and knife
The Farsi and English-speaking hostage taker was armed with an ax and a knife, Vaud cantonal police said in a press conference in Yverdon-les-Bains at midnight. Accordingly, he forced the train driver to leave the driver’s cab and join the 14 train passengers present. The 15 hostages – some of them tied up – were held on the train, which stopped at the Essert-sous-Champvent stop with the doors closed.
The police were alerted by the people trapped on the train and then cordoned off the area. With the help of a Farsi interpreter, negotiation specialists from the cantonal police communicated with the hostage-taker, particularly through messages on the hostages’ cell phones, according to Jean-Christophe Sauterel, head of communications for the Vaud police.
Explosives for distraction
Meanwhile, around 60 police officers took up positions around the train. At around 10:15 p.m., almost four hours after the hostage-taking began, the emergency services intervened when the hostage-taker was not near the trapped people. The police said they used explosives as a distraction before storming the train.
“When the hostage taker stormed towards the emergency team with his axe, a police officer used his weapon to protect the hostages and fatally hit the perpetrator,” said Sauterel. He died at the scene, even though there was a doctor among the police team. The police acted in self-defense, said Sauterel.
Hostages unharmed
According to police, the hostages remained unharmed. They received medical and psychological care and were taken to a police station where relatives were waiting for them. As part of the investigation, the hostages were also questioned by the police.
According to Attorney General Eric Kaltenrieder, no information can be given at the moment about possible motives or the man’s mental state.
My themes
For your saved topics were
new articles found.
info By clicking on the icon you can add the keyword to your topics.
info
By clicking on the icon you open your “my topics” page. They have of 15 keywords saved and would have to remove keywords.
info By clicking on the icon you can remove the keyword from your topics.
Add the topic to your topics.
Source: Nachrichten
