Brazil bus hijacker shot dead by police

A man who took a bus and 37 people hostage on a bridge in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro has been shot dead.

The four-hour ordeal ended after a police sniper shot the man after he stepped out of the bus.

Officials confirmed all hostages were safe and unharmed. 

No information about the man has been released so far, but initials reports claim he was holding a toy gun.

"Congratulations to the Rio de Janeiro police for the successful action that ended the bus hijacking on the Rio-Niterói Bridge this morning,” the president, Jair Bolsonaro, wrote on Twitter.

"The criminal was neutralised and no hostage was injured. Today, no family member of an innocent person will be in tears.”