Vienna  - Police seized a Bosnian bank robber Thursday who had taken a female hostage in Feldkirch in the westernmost part of Austria, and forced her to drive him across two thirds of the country by car.

After the hostage, a 37-year-old bank employee, had persuaded the armed kidnapper to let her use a bathroom at a rest stop near the town of Enns, police arrested the 43-year old suspect, Austrian news agency APA reported.

Police monitored the robber's car as it drove for around 470 kilometres east from the crime scene, where the unmasked Bosnian had robbed 3,055 euros (3,905 dollars).

Although no one was injured in the incident, police said the hostage was being treated for severe shock. (dpa)