ATHENS, Dec. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Two gunmen who hijacked a bus carrying 24 passengers in an Athens suburb Wednesday have asked for one million US dollars ransom and an aircraft to leave the country, local media reported.

    In negotiations with police, the hijackers demanded the ransom but did not specify where they wanted to fly.

    The bus was on a route from the town of Marathon, east of Athens, to the city center when it was hijacked several hours before dawn at 5:50 (0350 GMT) at a stop in the suburb of Geraka.

    Diplomats from Albanian and Russian embassies were called in bythe police to the scene to try to identify the nationality of the kidnappers.

    The Albanian ambassador was quoted by local media as saying that the gunmen "may be Albanian", adding that he had had no chance to talk with the hijackers.

    Bus company chief Nikos Koutsogeorgas said earlier that the hijackers were Russians.

    TEN PASSENGERS RELEASED SO FAR

    In all, 10 passengers have left the bus. Five of them, three women and two men, were released early Wednesday about five hours after the two gunmen seized the bus. The released hostages were taken to a police command center on the scene.

    Three hours later, another two passengers were freed leaving 19hostages still on the bus nine hours after the vehicle was hijacked.

    According to local TV report, a third batch of three hostages were released two hours later.

    The bus driver, a ticket collector and another woman passenger managed to escape from the bus when the gunmen captured the bus.

    The police said it was not clear what prompted the seizure.

    Police cars have sealed off traffic along the eastern Athens highway and a group of negotiators have arrived at the scene to talk to the gunmen.

    A police spokeswoman said negotiations with the two armed hijackers were proceeding well.

    "We are on a good path. It is proceeding satisfactorily," she said.

    The hostage crisis prompted Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis to postpone by one day his visit to Brussels to attend a European Union summit.

    "The prime minister will now leave on Thursday for Brussels because of this situation with the bus hijacking," a government spokesman said.

    Karamanlis was scheduled to leave for Brussels at 5:00 p.m. (1500 GMT) to join in the discuss on Friday whether to start EU entry talks with Turkey. Enditem