Hijacker shot dead in bus hijack drama in Brazil

A hijacker armed with what turned out to be a toy gun was shot dead by police in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday after he held a busload of passengers hostage for several hours on a major bridge in peak-hour traffic.

Dozens of people were trapped on the public bus on a heavily transited bridge connecting Rio with the neighboring city of Niteroi after it was commandeered by the man, who also carried gasoline.

Around 31 people were stuck on the vehicle throughout the terrifying, four-hour ordeal, but no one was hurt, police said.

Xinhua/ AFP