A paramedic (top) lowers one of the wounded survivor from the hijacked bus in Manila on August 23, 2010. A dramatic hostage siege in the Philippine capital involving a busload of Hong Kong tourists ended after 12 hours with several captives walking free but the fate of 11 others unknown.
JAY DIRECTO/AFP/Getty Images
AP
The Day in Photos
Oil boom barriers that are expected to stop the spread of oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon platform disaster, lies washed up on the beach after heavy swells and winds hit the coast of Louisiana on April 30, 2010. A giant oil slick threatened economic and environmental devastation as it closed in on Louisiana's vulnerable coast, prompting the US government to declare a national disaster. Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency and called for urgent help to prevent fragile wetlands and vital fishing communities along the coast from pollution on a massive scale. The wind started to strengthen and blow the 600-square-mile (1,550-square-kilometer) slick directly onto the coast, where a rich variety of wildlife were at risk in the maze of marshes that amounts to 40 percent of the US wetlands.
Dr. Erica Miller, left, and Danene Birtell with Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research work to help a Northern Gannet bird, normally white when full grown, which is covered in oil from a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico, at a facility in Fort Jackson, La., Friday, April 30, 2010.
Members of the media photograph and film a car that crashed close to location of the launch of an election poster campaign, by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in Birmingham, central England on April 30, 2010. Brown and other senior members of his cabinet were in Birmingham for the launch of their party's final election campaign poster, prior to the May 6 general election.
Fisheries biologist Lyndsey Howell, right, and Shelley Harkness dig a grave in the sand for a dead Kemp's ridley turtle, foreground, Monday, April 26, 2010 in Bolivar Peninsula, Texas. The orange spray paint was put on the shell to identify the turtle. The number of strandings on these shores is double what scientists and volunteers normally see as the turtles begin nesting in April, says Howell, who patrols the beaches as part of her job with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Oil booms that were placed in preparation of the looming oil spill from last week's collapse and spill of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig are seen strewn along the shoreline from choppy seas in Port Eads, Thursday, April 29, 2010.
This April 28, 2010 image made from video released by the Deepwater Horizon Response Unified Command, shows an in situ burn in the Gulf of Mexico, in response to the oil spill after the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon.
Atletico Madrid's Diego Forlan celebrates after scoring against Liverpool during their Europa League semifinal second leg soccer match at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Thursday April 29, 2010.
Residents of Ottawa's Fallingbrook neighbourhood were unsettled to discover a series of break-ins involving women's undergarments have now been linked to Col. Russell Williams, left, the former air force base commander accused of killing two women. Courtney Cochrane, 29, right, says it's scary that the same person charged in a break-in at her parents house is also charged with two counts of murder.
Ken Leung, a Canadian dual citizen living in Hong Kong, was among the victims, his employer confirmed.
Two of his children, reported to be Jessie Leung, 14, and Doris Leung, 21, also died. The citizenship of Leung's children has yet to be confirmed.
Leung's wife was unhurt but their son, Jason Leung, who attended school in Mississauga, Ont., remained in hospital in Manila.
Tour organizers had said earlier that five of the people caught up in the hostage-taking were carrying Canadian passports.
Canada's Foreign Affairs Department said the Canadian mission in Manila was working closely with local authorities to get more information.
"We've been trying to verify the citizenship of these supposedly Canadian citizens, however, we're still getting a dead end right now," freelance reporter Dean Bernardo said from Manila.
"There has been no response coming in from the Department of Foreign Affairs."
Bernardo said the task of identifying the victims has been complicated because many of the passengers weren't carrying passports or identification with them.
The hostage-taking began when a former policeman with an M16 rifle commandeered the bus carrying tourists mainly from Hong Kong.
The gunman, who was apparently trying to demand that he be rehired, initially released nine of his hostages, but kept 15 on the bus.
The 12-hour standoff ended in a spray of bullets. Eight passengers were killed, as was the gunman, Rolando Mendoza, 55.
Newspaper reports from 2008 indicated that Mendoza was among five police officers charged with robbery, extortion and grave threats. The charges were laid after a hotel chef in Manila complained that officers had falsely accused him of using drugs in order to extort money from him.
Philippine Interior Secretary Jessie Robredo, in charge of the national police, acknowledged Tuesday there were problems with how the crisis was handled.
"Had we been better-prepared, better-equipped, better-trained, maybe the response would have been quicker despite the difficulty," Robredo said.
He added, "All the inadequacies happened at the same time."
Philippine police had defended their actions - pointing out that officers lacking proper equipment had risked their lives trying to bring the standoff to an end. But they promised to review all events leading to the deaths.
Officials in Hong Kong and Beijing issued warnings Tuesday against travel to the Philippines and demanded a full investigation.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said his government was "appalled" and telephoned his Philippine counterpart Alberto Romulo to voice concern. Hong Kong residents expressed outrage and media outlets in the Chinese territory denounced Philippine police as incompetent.
"We are going to condemn the Philippine government," said Vincent Fang, a legislative councillor in Hong Kong. "The Hong Kong people are very furious over this whole situation."
President Benigno Aquino III, faced with his first major crisis since taking office in June, said the incident showed the need for more police training and better equipment.
At the presidential palace, Aquino met with Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao and later spoke by phone for 15 minutes with Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang, briefing him on the progress of the investigation and assuring him the Philippine government will assist the victims and their relatives, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.
With files from the CBC's Anthony Germain, The Associated Press and The Canadian Press
Copyright: (C) Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/termsofuse.html
