Chinese police yesterday shot dead a knife-wielding assailant who had taken a busload of people hostage in eastern China, state media said.

Another three hostage-takers surrendered to police after a stand-off in the city of Nanjing, and the passengers on board the bus were freed, Jiangsu News Radio said on its micro-blog on the Twitter-like site Sina Weibo.

Three or four passengers were injured during the incident, which began after police boarded the bus to do a regular security check, the report said. Local police declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

Police shot dead one of the men – who were suspects in a murder case – after the attacker grabbed an 11-year-old girl and threatened her with a knife, the radio station said in a separate report.