Manila, Philippines (August 23, 2010; 11:55 p.m.) – Here are some gripping videos of the hostage taking on a Chinese tourist bus in Manila, Philippines.
The hostage crisis ended tragically after a SWAT team assaulted a bus full of mostly Chinese tourists from Hong Kong, resulting in the death of the hostage taker and nine (9) hostages.
Additional Story: Video & Transcript of Radio interview with Manila bus hostage-taker Rolando Mendoza
A total of 22 Hong Kong tourists and three Filipinos were aboard the tourist bus when sacked police senior inspector Rolando Mendoza seized the vehicle around 9 a.m., demanding that he be reinstated.
At first, matters proceeded peacefully. The hijacker freed nine hostages — three women, three children and two men — leaving 15 tourists on board. Police sealed the area and brought food for the hostages, along with fuel to keep the bus’ air conditioning running in the 32-degree-Celsius (90 F) heat.
Then negotiations began to go awry. Mendoza demanded a signed promise that his case would be reviewed, but its delivery was delayed for hours, in part by Manila’s notorious traffic, and when it finally arrived he rejected it as insufficient.
The hijacker’s brother Gregorio, a policeman, was flown in to talk to him through the driver’s window but grew so agitated in claiming Mendoza had been unfairly sacked that police hustled him away, fearing he would inflame the situation.
Some observers said Mendoza was provoked by the sight of his emotional policeman-brother Gregorio Mendoza being pacified and taken away. After Mendoza was heard firing his gun from inside the bus, the police attacked shortly after 7:30 p.m.
Policemen spent several minutes trying to enter through the doors and windows, using sledgehammers. They threw tear gas inside the bus before forcing open the emergency exit in the back at 8:13 p.m. By that time, Mendoza was dead, and so were apparently some of the hostages.
Videos: Manila, Philippines Hostage-taking Drama
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRt1aNsNM0c[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByNMwkbhCKQ[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH3kKN3uAgw[/youtube]
Sources: Yahoo News, GMA News, CNN
Additional Story: Video & Transcript of Radio interview with Manila bus hostage-taker Rolando Mendoza
