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Bloody end to Manila bus hijack

The bloody hostage drama in Manila is over. 

Law enforcers stormed a tourist bus that had been hijacked by a disguntled former police officer -- identified as Rolando Mendoza.

Patricia Estevez, Foreign Affairs Editor with The Philippine Star, was quoted by television channels as saying that 8 hostages and Mendoza had been killed during the operation. 

Click on NEXT to see, in photographs, how the hostage drama unfolded...

Bloody end to Manila bus hijack

Video from the scene showed police commandos, their rifles drawn, surrounding the bus, slamming windows with sledgehammers and opening an emergency exit as emergency vehicles converged at the scene.

Im the Image: A police commando tries to break down the door of a bus as a body lies inside during the assault on the bus

Bloody end to Manila bus hijack

Commandos wearing flak jackets who attempted to storm the bus were forced to retreat after bullets were sprayed through one of the windows toward the rear of the vehicle about 8:20 pm. local time, the TV footage showed.

In the Image: Members of the special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team take their position as a body lies on the steps of the bus during the assault

Bloody end to Manila bus hijack

Mendoza had taken 25 tourists hostage inside a bus in Manila, but later released nine of them, according to Philippines police.

In the Image: Mendoza looks out of a window of the bus carrying tourist hostages

Bloody end to Manila bus hijack

Mendoza, armed with an assault rifle, initially released two women followed by another woman with three children and a 73-year-old man, all from Hong Kong, and later two Filipino men.

In the Image: Hostages trying to assess the situation outside the hijacked bus

Bloody end to Manila bus hijack

Police confirmed that there were 25 passengers in the bus, including 22 tourists from Hong Kong, three Filipinos, the bus driver, an interpreter and a photographer.

In the Image: Mendoza's put up his demand for reinstatement on the windshield of the bus

Bloody end to Manila bus hijack

Mendoza, 55, was honoured by police chiefs in 1986 as one of the top 10 officers in the country.

But he was discharged in 2008 for his alleged involvement in drug-related crimes and extortion, according to police.

In the Image: Mendoza sought to present his case before the media. However, police personnel restricted the media from approaching the hijacked bus.

Bloody end to Manila bus hijack

In February 2009, Mendoza was one of five Manila police officers ordered dismissed by the Ombudsman.

Mendoza was a decorated police officer who faced accusations of chef Christian Kalaw.

Kalaw had claimed Mendoza and the other officers had forced him to swallow metamphetaine hydrochloride (shabu).

Mendoza faced loss of his complete retirement benefits and banishment from being able to hold any governmental job.

In the Image: The driver of the bus was lucky to escape Mendoza's custody. He initially put the death toll at 15.

Bloody end to Manila bus hijack

Seven hostages were evacuated safely from the bus after the hostage drama concluded.

In the Image: Police commandos try to open the door of a bus during the assault.

Bloody end to Manila bus hijack

The Hong Kong government has said that it would charter two flights to Manila for families of tourists held hostage by an armed ex-policeman in the Philippine capital. 

In the Image: One of the hostage is evacuated from the bus after the gunfight came to an end