Five bus hijackings

Five Bus Hijackings Less Deadly Than Manila's

AOL News

(Aug. 24) -- The Philippines police are under fire over a botched effort to end a Manila hostage drama on a tourist bus that left the hostage taker and eight Hong Kong tourists dead. Buses -- rarely subject to security controls and easily controlled by a single assailant -- have often been prime hijacking targets. But other incidents in recent years have ended without the death of hostages. Some examples:

June 22, 2009, China. An apparently deranged man wielding a knife boards a bus in Hunan province. As the cool-headed female driver argues with him, the passengers leave via the rear exit. After the hijacker stabs her seat, the driver takes him a short distance, telling him to "calm down" and "sit down and relax." The man later exits, and the driver continues her route. No one is injured.




March 28, 2007, the Philippines. Armed with hand grenades and guns, a disgruntled owner of a day care center hijacks a bus with 26 day care children and four teachers, demanding the government give free education to the students and housing to their families. After day-long negotiations, he surrenders and releases the hostages. No one is injured.

May 31, 2004, U.S. After imbibing tequila, Antonio Hernandez-Hernandez hijacks a Greyhound bus in Utah after attacking the driver with a knife. His goal: to drive to Nebraska for a showdown with his estranged ex-wife. He orders the passengers off the bus, then leads police on a chase. The driver stops the bus and flees when Hernandez-Hernandez goes to the restroom; he later surrenders to police.

April 25, 2003, Germany. A Lebanese man seeking the release of one of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers seizes a bus with 16 hostages and leads police on a highway chase. Police stormed the bus and captured the assailant, whose gun fired only blanks. No one was injured. Two similar bus-jackings occurred in Germany in the same month, with no injuries.

Nov. 17, 1997, Egypt. Islamic militants hijack a bus after massacring nearly 60 tourists at a top attraction near Luxor on the Nile River. The bus encountered a military checkpoint, and a firefight ensued. One terrorist was shot and wounded. The others escaped to nearby hills, but their bodies were later found in a cave, apparent suicides.

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