Police in Yining City, in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, shot a man dead after he hijacked a long-distance bus heading for the regional capital yesterday afternoon, according to Xinhua News Agency.

While the bus was refueling at a filling station in a Yining suburb at 3:50 PM on its way to Urumqi, Zhang Baoguo tried to hijack it by threatening to blast the bus with dynamite and displaying a fuse.
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Local police rushed to the scene and tried to urge him to give himself up. However, Zhang ignited the fuse at 5:28 PM, resulting in a fire on the bus.

Police shot him dead, reportedly to protect the safety of other passengers and people at the filling station.

According to initial investigations, a family dispute may have led to the incident.

(Xinhua News Agency May 12, 2005)