A Spectacular hostage military blockade in the Philippine capital involving a busload of Hong Kong tourists ended after 12 hours on Monday with several captives walking free but the fate of 11 others obscure.
The hitman, a dissatisfied ex-policeman, was killed in the final moments of the crisis in the center of capital of the Philippines Manila, which was played out alive on television screens around the world.
Four of the tourists emerged from the autobus alive, rounded by police force and emergency fomites, but there were concerns for the lives of the 11 others who didn't get off the vehicle at once afterward.
Some of the hostages were seen being pulled out of the bus motionless, but it was unclear whether they were unconscious or dead.
The body of the gunman, a highly decorated former police inspector who hijacked the bus in a desperate bid to get his job back, was seen slumped out of the main door of the vehicle.
Multiple gunshots were heard moments before heavily-armed police moved in on the bus near a park in Manila's historic tourist district just after nightfall.
