British pensioners survive Philippines bus siege

Bloodbath: forensics officers examine the bus on which eight hostages died
12 April 2012

Two British pensioners were among the survivors of the Philippines bus siege in which eight tourists were killed.

The Foreign Office confirmed today that the UK nationals — believed to be an elderly couple from Hong Kong — were among the party held hostage by a sacked policeman. The 12-hour siege ended yesterday when Filipino police stormed the bus after the gunman, who had a M-16 assault rifle and handgun, began firing.

Fifteen members of a Hong Kong tourist group were on board when Rolando Mendoza, 55, started to shoot after negotiations broke down.

He killed seven before being shot in the head by a police officer. An eighth tourist died later in hospital.

One survivor, who gave only her surname, Ng, told Hong Kong reporters that she saw her husband killed by Mendoza after he tried to subdue the gunman.

"He was very brave. He rushed forward from the back of the bus. He wanted to prevent the gunman from killing people. He sacrificed himself," she said.

Another hostage Wang Zhuoyao, 15, said: "I hid under a seat (when the gunman started to fire). Then the police dispersed gas. People in the bus were struggling. I could hear that many people couldn't breathe."

Mendoza had released nine hostages as negotiations got underway but later demanded a signed promise from the city ombudsman that his case would be reviewed. When it arrived he rejected it.

The Philippines police defended their action in storming the bus but promised to review all events leading to the deaths.

"There will be an internal audit. We will look at whether what we did was right," said spokesman Agrimero Cruz. "Of course what happened was far from ideal. Nevertheless, we are congratulating our personnel because, despite the lack of equipment... they risked life and limb."

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said his government was "appalled" and telephoned his Filipino counterpart Alberto Romulo to voice concern.

"The Chinese government demands the Philippine government launch a thorough investigation into the incident and inform the Chinese side of related details as soon as possible," Mr Yang said, according to a statement posted on his ministry's website.

Mendoza was among five officers who had been charged with robbery, extortion and grave threats after a Manila hotel chef filed a complaint alleging they falsely accused him of using drugs to extort money. Mendoza was fired last year but claimed he was innocent.

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