Philippine hijack victims flown home

The bodies and survivors of the hijacked Philippine bus attack have returned to Hong Kong.

The hijacker, a disgruntled ex-policeman, was shot dead by police and eight hostages were killed, either by the gunman or Philippine security forces during a botched rescue attempt.

Its an early blow for the country’s new president Benigno Aquino III.

“We ask for their understanding. We are correcting deficiencies that we have noted in the implementation of our operating procedures,” he said. “None of us wanted this outcome. And we’d
like to emphasise the fact that the primary consideration was trying to secure all of the hostages.”

Commanders of the assault team have been suspended and weapons from the raid tested to determine responsibility for the deaths.

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