Thursday, June 16 2005 15:56 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Siem Riep (Cambodia): One Canadian child was killed today (Jun 16, 2005) after police stormed an international school in the north-western Cambodian town of Siem Riep where gunmen were holding around 30 people hostage, police said.

One of the four hostage-takers was also shot dead, they said.

Police opened fire on the hostage-takers as they attempted to escape with several children in a vehicle after police entered the compound of Siem Reap International School, Pheun Arun, Siem Reap district police chief told sources in Cambodia.

"They took the children into the car and the police tried to shoot at the wheels and they tried to shoot back... We don't know which side shot the girl dead," he told sources in Cambodia.

He said one of the hostage-takers was shot dead and the other three were arrested. He said the group appeared to work for a Phnom Penh-based security firm.

An eyewitness outside the school compound told that she saw at least two children released after intermittent gunfire erupted around 2:30pm (1300 hrs IST). She also said a Canadian child had died.

The hostage crisis began early in the morning when the four men believed to be armed with a single AK 47 automatic rifle, forced their way into the school in Siem Riep, home to the Angkor Wat temple complex and many foreign aid organisations, said the eyewitness.

A teacher and approximately 29 children aged between two and seven from 14 different countries were held during the seven-hour ordeal, said the eyewitness, an expatriate who asked to remain anonymous.