Car-jack gunman in hostage drama

Switzerland’s busiest highway was the scene of an eight-hour hostage drama today when a gunman seriously injured a factory worker and then hijacked a car.

The 22-year-old Turkish national surrendered to police in the tiny principality of Liechtenstein after shooting and wounding himself. His 49-year-old hostage was unharmed.

The gunman, who was not identified, opened fire on a 31-year-old Turkish worker in a factory in Selzach, northern Switzerland, before dawn and then sped off by car.

When police tried to stop him at a roadblock, he pulled his gun and commandeered the blue Fiat car of a passing motorist.

Authorities temporarily closed the key A1 highway which links major Swiss cities as the gunman and his hostage drove through northern Switzerland and into neighbouring Liechtenstein.

The man agreed to negotiate with police near the small Liechtenstein town of Balzers, but then pulled his weapon on himself.