Turkish police storm ferry, kill hijacker

Turkish police have stormed a hijacked ferry, killing the man who claimed to have a bomb and who had apparently so far made no demands.

The man hijacked the ferry on Friday afternoon near Izmit. He turned out not to have a gun, and his ‘bomb’ was in fact a bottle with some wires sticking out of the top. Nevertheless, around 20 passengers and 4 crew members were trapped on the ferry for many hours while police attempted to talk the man away.

The hijacker is believed to have been in his 30s and Turkish sources allege that he was part of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is banned in Turkey and is listed by the US and Europe as a terrorist organisation.