Armed with an axe

Hostage-taking on a train in Switzerland: Perpetrator killed

After the hostage-taking, investigators examine the regional train in which the perpetrator held 15 victims including the train driver.

(Bild: AFP)

Dramatic scenes unfolded on a Swiss regional train on Thursday evening: A 32-year-old man held 15 hostages hostage for hours. The perpetrator, who was armed with an axe and a knife, was finally killed in a police attack. 

The train was traveling between Yverdon and Sainte-Croix in the canton of Vaud. At around 6.35 p.m., people trapped on the train alerted the police. The area was then cordoned off.

Negotiations with a Persian interpreter
The hostage-taker, who spoke Persian and English, was armed with an axe and a knife, reported the cantonal police. With the help of a Persian interpreter, negotiation specialists from the executive communicated with the perpetrator, in particular via messages on the hostages' cell phones, as Jean-Christophe Sauterel, head of communications for the Vaud police, explained.

The victims were held in the train for four hours.

(Bild: AFP)

According to the police, the hostage-taker forced the train driver to leave the driver's cab and join the 14 passengers present. The 15 hostages - some of them tied up - were held in the train, which stopped at the Essert-sous-Champvent stop with the doors closed.

Hostage-takers distracted with explosives
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 nowhere near the people locked inside. According to the police, they used explosives as a distraction before storming the train.

(Bild: AFP)

(Bild: AFP )

Police officer drew weapon "to protect hostages"
"When the hostage-taker stormed towards the emergency team with his axe, a police officer used his weapon to protect the hostages and fatally shot the perpetrator," said Sauterel. He died at the scene, although there was a doctor among the police team. According to Sauterel, the police acted in self-defense.

According to the police, the hostages remained unharmed. They received medical and psychological care and were taken to a police station where relatives were waiting for them. In the course of the investigation, the hostages were also questioned by the police.

The perpetrator was probably a 32-year-old asylum seeker of Iranian nationality who was assigned to the canton of Neuchâtel. According to the police, his identity has yet to be established beyond doubt. For the time being, no information can be given on possible motives or the man's mental state, according to Attorney General Eric Kaltenrieder.