MANILA, Philippine - A 12-hour hostage stand-off on a bus in the Philippines ended in bloodshed on monday with officials saying that at least eight tourists had died along with the disgruntled former policeman who took them hostage in a bid to get his job back.
"The outcome is very disappointing. It is a tragedy because a pleasure trip has ended up with casualties and injuries," the city's Chief Executive Donald Tsang told a press briefing.
Tsang said he had been unable to reach Philippine President Benigno Aquino and urged the Filipino authorities to provide a full account of the deadly incident.The Hong Kong government yesterday lamented the tragedy.
Source: Reuters
- The hostage-taker, former senior inspector Rolando Mendoza, panicked when he saw on the TV in the tourist bus how his brother had been manhandled and arrested in Manila's tourist district, according to radio and TV reports. He then used his rifle and a hunting knife to attack his hostages, alternately shooting and slitting the throats of his victims. Eight were killed, while six others were critically wounded.
- At least six hostages survived, four of whom were seen crawling out of the back door of the bus after police stormed it in the evening. Police took action when the hostage-taker started shooting, according to police Senior Superintendent Nelson Yabut.
- Some of the victims had slit throats, doctors at the Manila Doctors Hospital confirmed, adding that medical staff had been sent to the scene.
- TV and radio reports confirmed that Mendoza had been killed, but it remained unclear how.
- The crisis began when Mendoza, 55, armed with an M16 rifle, seized a bus carrying tourists from Hong Kong to demand his reinstatement to the force.
- According to newspaper reports from 2008, he was among five officers who were charged with robbery, extortion and making threats after a Manila hotel chef filed a complaint against them.
The gunman released nine hostages during the afternoon — leaving 15 inside the bus — and demanded his job back to free the rest. Despite hopes that negotiations might bring the stand-off to a peaceful conclusion, tensions escalated as night closed in.
"The outcome is very disappointing. It is a tragedy because a pleasure trip has ended up with casualties and injuries," the city's Chief Executive Donald Tsang told a press briefing.Tsang said he had been unable to reach Philippine President Benigno Aquino and urged the Filipino authorities to provide a full account of the deadly incident.The Hong Kong government yesterday lamented the tragedy.
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