Update: Here is a Wikipedia entry on the Manila hostage crisis.
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From CNN “Philippines police: Authorities botched hostage rescue” (with video) (emphasis added),
“”The investigation has got to find out, what was the turning point? What happened?” Philippine National Red Cross Chairman Richard Gordon told CNN Tuesday.
Gordon told CNN that interviews with survivors have revealed that the situation inside the bus changed dramatically toward the end of the 10-hour standoff.
“Apparently the man went berserk. He was telling everybody he was not going to harm [them]…He said that nobody’s going to get harmed. He said that he was probably going to die, but not the hostages,” he said.
A woman who was on the bus told reporters her husband was killed when he tried to stop the gunman.
“My husband was very brave. He rushed out from the back of the bus to try to stop the killer,” said the woman, who identified herself as Alicia Leung.
She told reporters that she pretended to be dead in order to survive.
“Why did authorities not rescue us? There were so many of us on the bus. Why did no one come to rescue us? It is so cruel,” she said.”
From New York Times “Philippines Criticized Over Hostage Standoff” (emphasis added),
“The Philippine government faced a wrenching public discussion on Tuesday over how its police handled a 12-hour hostage standoff that unfolded on live television and ended with the deaths of eight tourists from Hong Kong and their armed captor.
Growing criticism of the police response underscored what may be an early test for President Benigno S. Aquino III, who was elected in a landslide this spring. Chinese officials said they were appalled by the killings, and one prominent member of the Philippine government blamed the police for mishandling the siege. The Hong Kong executive complained that he had been unable to reach Mr. Aquino throughout the crisis.
[…] Mr. Mendoza appeared to exploit the live coverage by posting placards on the bus windows specifically addressed to the news media. He even gave an interview to a radio station. As night fell, negotiations grew tense.
Shortly after the live broadcasts from the scene showed a brother of Mr. Mendoza being detained, he opened fire inside the bus. It was 20 minutes later when the police stormed the bus.
At a news conference after the siege, Mr. Aquino said officials with the Philippines National Police had decided to “wait it out” because they believed the standoff “could be settled peacefully, without loss of life.”
In some quarters, there was also speculation that police officers used to a culture of graft and favoritism might have had a level of sympathy for Mr. Mendoza that blinded them to the seriousness of the situation. Mr. Mendoza claimed that he had not been given a fair shake as he fought the charges of extortion and that he only wanted the chance to be heard.
Ian Bryson, an analyst in Singapore at the London-based consultancy firm Control Risks, pointed out that the police were not centrally controlled and said, “Clearly, the message of Mr. Mendoza’s grievances gained traction within members of the PNP.””
From CTV “Canadian, two daughters, killed in bus hijacking” (with video reports including an interview with a security expert) (emphasis added),
“A Canadian and his two daughters are confirmed to be among the dead in Monday’s hijacking of a tour bus in Manila, Philippines.
CTV News has identified the killed Canadian as Ken Leung, 58, and his two daughters, as Jessie Leung, 14, and Doris Leung, 20.
Ken Leung’s wife was unhurt, but their son, Jason Leung, 18, remains in hospital. There are conflicting reports of whether he was hit by gunfire, or by a hammer when police stormed the bus by breaking windows.
Ken Leung was a dual-citizen, living in Hong Kong. Witnesses said he sacrificed himself to try to save other passengers.
“Ken Leung was killed trying to protect his family, trying to protect other hostages,” Ben O’Hara-Byrne, CTV’s China Bureau Chief, reported Tuesday.”
More from CBC “Canadians killed in Manila hostage-taking: reports“.
P.S. It has been painful to watch how the Manila police botched the negotiations and how the whole situation escalated out of control and resulted in the death of 8 tourists at the scene and the hijacker.
It pains me to see how far off the mark did the Manila police perform compare to the scenarios depicted in the CTV/CBS TV series Flashpoint which is styled after the Toronto Police Emergency Task Force.
***
Update: From Apple Daily, there are total nine deaths and the list of names. “康泰公佈死者名單 – 2010年08月24日 (12:34 pm)”
康泰馬尼拉 4天團意外，造成 8死 7傷。另新華社報道，新增 1名香港女居民不治，死亡人數升至 9人。
8名死者包括：
1. Leung Song Yi Jessie（ 14歲，女）
2. Leung Doris Chung See（ 21歲，女）
3. Tse Ting Cheunn Masa
謝廷駿（ 31歲，男領隊）
4. Fu Cheuk Yan（ 39歲，男）
5. Yeung Yee Wa（ 44歲，女）
6. Yeung Yee Kam（ 46歲，女）
7. Wong Tze Lam（ 51歲，男）
8. Leung Ken Kam Wing（ 58歲，男）
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