Heavily armed police have stormed a cafe in central Sydney, ending a siege where a gunman had been holding hostages since Monday morning.
Loud explosions and yelling could be heard from outside the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in Sydney’s Martin Place at about 2:00am (AEDT).
New South Wales Police have declared the siege over but there has been no confirmation as to the whereabouts or condition of the gunman.
There are reports some people have been shot but it is not known if anyone has died.
Just before police stormed the building, several hostages had emerged from the cafe and minutes later what appeared to be gunfire and explosions could be heard.
Follow our live blog for updates on the siege in central Sydney
Paramedic crews who had been stationed at the scene throughout the day were then seen carrying people out of the building on stretchers, and onlookers said one patient was being resuscitated.
ABC reporter Siobhan Heanue said there were two volleys of gunfire and loud explosions, in the middle of which screams could be heard.
“The sound ricocheted throughout the tall buildings around the area… and hostages started pouring out of the building,
“Some running, some able to walk, some with their hands up, and some being carried by ambulance staff.”
One was undergoing CPR, she said.
The gunman, identified by police as Iranian cleric Man Haron Monis, took an unknown number of people hostage at the cafe shortly before 10:00am (AEDT) on Monday.
Monis, who was granted political asylum in Australia, is currently on bail for a string of violent offences, including being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife.
Shortly after he locked the hostages inside the cafe, some were seen with their hands up while others were made to hold a black flag with Arabic writing against a window.
Heavily armed police officers took up positions in the pedestrian area, which was cleared for several blocks.
Several hours later, at about 4:00pm, two men ran from a front door of the cafe while a man wearing a Lindt apron came out of a side door.
About an hour later two women who worked at the cafe ran from the building.
On Monday, Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn said she could not confirm how many people were being held hostage, but they believed it was fewer than 30.
ABC reporter Nick Dole said police were working to secure the scene.
“Exactly what is going on inside we don’t know but we have seen evidence that perhaps police from the bomb squad would be in there,” he said.
“So police are working through the Lindt cafe to at least make it safe for investigators to go through.
“We’ve seen a robot – what looks like a police robot.
“Police are working very hard to make the crime scene safe so the investigation can continue.”
Courtesy:http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-16/sydney-siege-ends-martin-place-lindt-cafe/5969162
