Russian bus hijackers make demands

Gunmen who seized a bus carrying at least 40 people in southern Russia have demanded the release of five Chechens jailed on hijack charges.

The gunmen are demanding the release of the men currently serving jail terms for a bus hijacking in May 1994 in the same region.

The gunmen are also demanding safe passage to the airport at Mineralnye Vody and the bus, which had been heading in the opposite direction, is now travelling toward the airport.

Police and special services have sealed off the airport and a special anti-terrorist squad has been sent there.

At least one person has been injured by automatic gunfire in the hijack. The gunmen are armed with one grenade, 2.2lb of TNT and one submachine gun.

Authorities are, however, receiving conflicting reports on the number of gunmen.

Russian media said there were two hijackers. The bus was heading from the city of Nevinnomyssk to Stavropol when it was seized at about 7am local time.

The acting chief of the Nevinnomyssk police department was shot while holding talks with the hijackers.

Four passengers, two women and two children, were released before the bus departed from Nevinnomyssk. Officials believe there are 41 people on the bus, including the hijackers.

Mineralnye Vody, 550 miles south of Moscow, is a popular resort town in the Caucasus Mountains not far from separatist Chechnya and has been the scene of bus hijackings and bomb blasts in recent years.