EL SALVADOR: BANK ROBBERY HOSTAGE DRAMA ENDS IN SHOOTOUT

Spanish/Nat A policeman and a bank security guard have been injured during a hostage drama after a bank robbery went wrong in El Salvador's capital Tuesday. A shootout broke out after police surrounded the bank demanding the release of eight hostages. The assailants were arrested after police negotiators persuaded them to surrender. Police surrounded the branch of CREDISA bank in northern San Salvador to negotiate with the robbers who had kept eight employees as hostages. The assailants broke into the branch minutes before the employees arrived in the morning. An emergency call alerted the National Civil Police which immediately deployed about 200 agents to the area. A shootout broke between police and robbers as they prepared to flee from the scene. Members of the Salvadoran rescue team Green Cross helped in the negotiations between the police and the robbers. After negotiations lasting several minutes, the robbers were persuaded to release the hostages- including a pregnant woman. The thieves surrendered their weapons to the Green Cross and left the bank with their faces covered. They were immediately arrested by PNC agents. SOUNDBITE: (In Spanish) "They said it would be better if they surrendered, and they told me to take the first four hostages - take them outside, and later they would turn over the rest of the hostages." SUPER CAPTION: Jose Luis Fernandez, El Salvador Green Cross Negotiator Two policemen and a security guard were injured during the gunfire. The failed robbery is another sign of the extent of the social and economic crisis afflicting this Central American nation since the end of the civil war. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/7c7b479752b09193cef6aacd4635f76e Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork