Police arrest 30-year-old man after bus drivers taken hostage in Germany

Passengers disembarked but three drivers remained onboard with suspect said to have gun

The A9 motorway, on which the bus was travelling towards Serbia, was partially closed (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A man in his thirties has been arrested after three bus drivers were taken hostage on a motorway in southern Germany, police said.

Witnesses said the suspect, a 30-year-old Serbian national, was armed, but no weapon has yet been found either on the bus or in his possession, Middle Franconia Police said.

Although investigations into the incident are ongoing, police believe that the bus stopped on a hard shoulder between the Hilpoltstein and Greding junctions in Bavaria after a physical dispute broke out between passengers, during which two were injured.

When the bus stopped, the passengers disembarked but three drivers remained onboard with a man who was said to have had a gun.

The A9 motorway, on which the bus was travelling towards Serbia, was partially closed and emergency services were dispatched to the scene including special operations command and Bavarian riot police.

Police were able to speak to one of the bus drivers on board via mobile phone, after which all three disembarked. The 30-year-old was arrested at 9.30pm on Tuesday without resistance, police said.

The force added that further investigations into the circumstances around the incident will be led by the specialist commissioner of the Schwabach police.