A hostage is rushed to a hospital following an assault by Philippine police and SWAT members to rescue hostages in a tour bus at Manila's Rizal Park last night. Police stormed the bus after shots were heard from the hostage-taker of 15 Chinese tourists from Hong Kong. At least eight tourists were killed and seven others were injured.

A 12-HOUR hostage drama aboard a Philippine bus ended in bloodshedyesterday, with at least eight Chinese tourists dead along with the disgruntled ex-policeman who hijacked the vehicle in Manila and demanded his job back, officials said.

Seven captives survived, four of whom were seen crawling out the back door of the bus after Philippine police stormed it yesterday evening when the hostage-taker started shooting at the 15 Chinese tourists inside, said police Senior Superintendent Nelson Yabut.

He said the hostage-taker was killed with a sniper shot to the head after he wounded a police sharpshooter.

Police and ambulances were lined up next to the vehicle in the pouring rain after the standoff ended. All the seven survivors were injured, with one hospitalized in critical condition.

The crisis began when the dismissed policeman, Rolando Mendoza, 55, armed with a M16 rifle seized the busload of Hong Kong tourists to demand his reinstatement on the force.

According to newspaper reports from 2008, Mendoza was among five officers who had been charged with robbery, extortion and grave threats after a Manila hotel chef filed a complaint alleging the policemen falsely accused him of using drugs to extort money.

Mendoza released nine hostages during the afternoon, leaving 15 inside. Those freed included two women, three children, a diabetic man and three Filipinos - including a tour guide and a photographer.

Despite hopes that negotiations could bring the stand-off to a peacefulconclusion, tensions escalated as night closed in.

Police said they stormed the bus after they saw Mendoza open fire on hostages. Crouching outside the vehicle, commandos in flak jackets used a hammer to bash in side windows, the door and windshield, although it was some time before they eventually gained entry.

Moments before the commandos moved in, the Filipino bus driver fled. Police officer Roderick Mariano cited him as saying Mendoza had opened fire at the tourists.

The Hong Kong tourists had been on a visit to Manila and had been due to fly back to the Chinese territory yesterday, according to tour operator Hong Thai Travel Services Ltd.

Mendoza seized the bus after hitching a ride as it traveled with the tourists from the historic walled city of Intramuros.

Police said he then "declared he is taking the passengers hostage" when the bus reached Jose Rizal Park alongside Manila Bay.

Police sharpshooters took positions around the white-blue-and-red bus, and the road was sealed off, with ambulances and fire trucks positioned nearby.

Police brought in food for the hostages as well as fuel so that the air conditioning unit could keep running, with the outside temperature being about 32 degrees Celsius.

The standoff was covered live on television.

• assault [ə´sɔ:lt] vt.袭击；殴打 n.攻击 (初中英语单词)
• rescue [´reskju:] vt.&n.救援；挽救 (初中英语单词)
• aboard [ə´bɔ:d] ad.&prep.在...上 (初中英语单词)
• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• policeman [pə´li:smən] n.警察 (初中英语单词)
• complaint [kəm´pleint] n.抱怨；叫屈 (初中英语单词)
• despite [di´spait] prep.尽管 (初中英语单词)
• peaceful [´pi:sfəl] a.和平的；平静的 (初中英语单词)
• conclusion [kən´klu:ʒən] n.结束；结论；推论 (初中英语单词)
• hammer [´hæmə] n.锤子 v.重击 (初中英语单词)
• operator [´ɔpəreitə] n.操作者；接线员 (初中英语单词)
• running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)
• senior [´si:niə] a.年长的 n.前辈 (高中英语单词)
• superintendent [,su:pərin´tendənt, ,sju:-] n.管理人，负责人 (高中英语单词)
• critical [´kritikəl] a.批评的；关键性的 (高中英语单词)
• crisis [´kraisis] n.转折点；危机 (高中英语单词)
• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
• historic [his´tɔrik] a.有历史意义的 (高中英语单词)
• alongside [əlɔŋ´said] ad.在旁 prep.横靠 (高中英语单词)
• vehicle [´vi:ikəl] n.车辆；媒介物 (英语四级单词)
• robbery [´rɔbəri] n.抢劫(案)；盗取 (英语四级单词)
• eventually [i´ventʃuəli] ad.最后，终于 (英语四级单词)
• filipino [fili´pi:nəu] n.&a.菲律宾人(的) (英语四级单词)
• traveled [´trævəld] a.见面广的；旅客多的 (英语四级单词)
• bloodshed [´blʌdʃed] n.流血；杀人 (英语六级单词)
• taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)