WASHINGTON: Two people were found dead after an hours-long hostage situation at a doctor’s office in Texas, according to police and US media reports Wednesday.

The drama in the state capital Austin began Tuesday afternoon and lasted more than five hours, and it was not immediately known how many people were taken hostage or who did it.

A special police unit used a bullhorn to communicate with the hostage taker. “Your life is very important to me,” a member of the SWAT team said over the loudspeaker, according to the Austin American-Statesman newspaper. “And I know life is very important to you.”