Swiss train hostage gives account of fatal drama 

A person taken hostage by an asylum seeker on a Swiss train has spoken of the traumatic events that led up to the assailant being shot dead by police last week. The 32-year Iranian asylum seeker, armed with an axe a knife and a hammer, held 13 people hostage on the regional train on February 8. The drama ended when police stormed the train and shot dead the hostage taker. “It took me a long time to realise how precarious the situation was,” Brad Smith, who was one of those held hostage, told Swiss public broadcasters SRF and RTS. “Then he put the axe blade to my neck.” The four-hour long incident seemed longer because the train was in the dark with the electricity cut, said Smith. When the incident reached a crescendo, “suddenly everyone realised the horror. We realised that he might kill us all that night.” Police eventually stormed the train after setting off explosives designed to distract the hostage taker. “The noise, shattering glass, smoke, the emergency services with ...