News: Hostage in Philippines

At least seven killed in hostage crisis in the Philippines recently. The hostage taking was on a tourist bus (HONG THAI TOURIST) held in Quirino Grandstand Manila Philippines. The hostage taking started around 10 am(local time) and ended around 9 pm.

Philippine security forces stormed a bus full of Hong Kong tourists on Monday to end a dramatic hostage crisis that unfolded live on global television, leaving at least seven people and the gunman dead.Hong Kong eventually issued its top-level black travel alert for the Philippines on Monday after Hong Kong tourists were killed in Manila in a bus hijack by an armed ex-policeman.The Hong Kong government said it was “very disappointed” about the outcome of a dramatic hostage siege.The day-long ordeal began when a disgruntled ex-policeman armed with an M-16 assault rifle hijacked the bus in Manila’s tourist district in a desperate bid to get his job back.Negotiations broke down after nightfall when the gunman, a highly decorated former senior police inspector identified as Rolando Mendoza, began shooting the passengers, and commandos stormed the bus.Police said Mendoza was shot dead by a sniper after he used his captives as “human shields” in the final moments of the 12-hour standoff. In the end, one of the snipers managed to shoot the hostage taker in the head.

Now the Security Bureau of Hong Kong advised its citizens to avoid all travel to the Philippines an hour after the hostage crisis ended Monday.In an outbound travel alert, the Security Bureau, changed its “amber alert warning" - meaning there were signs of threat - for the Philippines to a “black alert warning" indicating severe threats on the country’s security.

The Hong Kong warning stated that a “serious kidnap incident happened in the Philippines. [R]esidents should avoid all travel to the country; those who are already there should attend to their personal safety and exercise caution."

The travel warning came after the 10-hour hostage crisis ended with at least 4 Chinese nationals killed. Hostage-taker Rolando Mendoza, a former police office, was shot in the head by a SWAT sniper.