Japanese Police stormed a hijacked bus at Nagasaki on Sunday (16 October) killing one of the two hijackers and injuring the other. The hijackers had held hostages on the bus for 18 hours before the police rescue was mounted. Several police officers called out 'shoot us first' to the hijackers - and while they drew their attention other police opened fire, shattering bus windows to help free the hostages.

SYNOPSIS: The hijackers, one armed with a saw???n-off shotgun, had taken over the bus when it stopped at a petrol station at the southern Japanese city of Nagasaki. They had told police they were a 'suicide squad' from the Aso Unified Red Army. The police had a difficult decision to make in mounting their rescue attack, as the hijackers had said they could blow up the bus 'in three seconds'. They also said that if their demands were not met 37 bomb explosions would occur simultaneously throughout Japan.

About 250 policemen surrounded the bus before their pre-dawn attack began, and later a squad stormed the bus to capture the hijackers. One hijacker was shot in the neck and died later in hospital, and some of the 16 hostages were cut by broken glass as they were dragged through the bus windows to safety.

Among the injured was the surviving hijacker who told police he and his companion had hoped the hijack would bring them a large ransom.

Weapons taken from the hijackers included revolvers and home-made bombs. Police said they did not believe the gunmen were connected with the group which hijacked a Japanese plane last month, but the dead man had previously been sentenced on a kidnapping charge.