The hostage crisis in Manila ended in a bloody carnage Monday night, after a SWAT team assaulted a tourist bus full of mostly Chinese nationals, resulting in the death of hostage-taker Rolando Mendoza, a former police officer, and at least four hostages.
Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo told reporters at least six of the hostages were confirmed alive.
Four hostages were confirmed dead, according to presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda. The fate of the other hostages, meanwhile, was unknown as of posting time.
Mendoza was confirmed dead after sustaining a shot in the head, according to the sniper who claimed he hit the hostage-taker who was armed with an M-16 rifle.
One of the survivors - a Chinese national currently being treated at the Ospital ng Maynila (OM) - narrated that Mendoza started randomly firing at the hostages at around 8 p.m. She said her husband, who was among the fatalities, used his own body to shield her from the spray of bullets.
This resulted in the hostages sustaining gunshot wounds in different parts of their body.
She further called on authorities to bring to OM her three young children, who might have been taken to another hospital.
The four hostages at OM are now stable, according to a report by Mariz Umali, and said they just wanted to go back to their hotels to be able to rest.
One hostage is currently in critical condition after the horrific hostage-taking incident in Manila, Malacañang said minutes after the assault.
The wounded hostages were taken to OM and Philippine General Hospital.
The presidential spokesman told Palace reporters that President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III has yet to issue an official statement on the incident. "The president has been meeting with the police, the DILG officials, and [Manila] Mayor [Alfredo] Lim. As of now, four hostages has been confirmed dead, one in critical condition. We will be issuing a statement later tonight," Lacierda said.
Of the six hostages taken to Ospital ng Maynila, two were declared dead after sustaining several gunshot wounds in different parts of the body. —With Jam Sisante/KBK/VS, GMANews.TV
Source: gmanews.tv
