Hostage situation on Swiss train ends, suspect killed: What we know

On Thursday, a routine train ride through western Switzerland turned into a terrifying ordeal as a hostage situation unfolded.

Armed with an axe and a knife, a lone individual held 15 people captives, including passengers and the conductor. The standoff ended dramatically with a police raid, leaving the suspect dead and the hostages unharmed.

As authorities grapple with unanswered questions about the motive behind the incident, here’s what happened.

The four-hour standoff

The incident occurred in Essert-Sous-Champvent, western Switzerland, on Thursday night between 6.35 pm and 10.30 pm local time (5.35 pm to 9.30 pm GMT).

According to the Vaud canton police spokesperson Jean-Christophe Sauterel, the hostage-taker was armed with an axe and a knife, and was speaking Farsi and English.

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A total of 15 hostages were taken — 14 passengers and the conductor — with the ordeal dragging on for nearly four hours.

The suspect had forced the conductor of the train — which was stopped near Yverdon — to join the passengers, who alerted police to the situation.

Fortunately, the hostages were released safely after the hostage-taker was killed, according to the authorities.

Motive a mystery

"At this stage of the investigation, the motives of the perpetrator are not known," Sauterel said.

The hostage-taker's identity, he added, was still not officially confirmed, and checks were being carried out.

The incident occurred in Essert-Sous-Champvent, western Switzerland, on Thursday night between 6.35pm and 10.30pm local time (5.35pm to 9.30pm GMT). AFP

The man was shot dead by a police officer after allegedly rushing at him with the axe.

Negotiations with the suspect took place in part via WhatsApp and with the help of a translator speaking Farsi, the predominant language in Iran.

Authorities ultimately decided to storm the train and executed a manoeuvre to keep the man away from the hostages, according to Sauterel.

Uncommon in Switzerland

Hostage situations are rare in Switzerland, but do occasionally occur.

In January of 2022, criminals took a couple and two employees of a company hostage in an attempt to gain access to vaults where precious metals were kept, but ultimately fled without the loot.

And in November of 2021, the director of a watch company and members of his family were taken hostage at his home, with the assailants stealing gold and taking off for neighbouring France.

With inputs from AFP