Four men hijack and torch a bus in Northern Ireland.

Authorities in Northern Ireland said on Sunday evening that four men hijacked and set fire to a bus in a pro-British unionist community.

The police received a report of a hijacking incident in the Church Road area of Newtownabbey, a Belfast suburb, around 7:45 in the evening.

‘According to reports, four men boarded the bus and ordered passengers to get off the bus before setting fire to it. Church Road is currently closed, with detours in place, and police are advising the public to stay away from the area’ Northern Ireland’s Police Service said in an issued statement.

The driver and a few passengers were safely disembarked, according to Translink, the bus operator.

In a statement, the company said that their driver was badly shaken and was being supported by colleagues.

‘We are deeply disappointed by this threatening attack on our employees and local public transportation services. We vehemently condemn this behaviour and will cooperate fully with the PSNI in the investigation of this incident,’ the bus operator said in a statement.

Two masked and armed men hijacked and set fire to another bus last week in Ireland. The local media said that the attack was linked to tensions over post-Brexit trade barriers.