The World - News from June 3, 1988

Two men wielding revolvers burst into a southern Brazil bank, seized hostages and demanded the equivalent of $50,000 and a getaway car, Brazilian police said. Police inspector Alcides Lorenzo said no one had been harmed and that 20 police officers were surrounding the Bank of Brazil office in Goioere, a town of 20,000 about 550 miles southwest of Rio de Janeiro. All customers, the security guards and women bank tellers initially taken hostage were freed, a police source said. Among the 17 remaining hostages, all male, were the branch manager and assistant manager, he said. Bank robberies have become common in Brazil, where inflation has soared, and gunmen often have been allowed to escape in order to save hostages.