HONG KONG, Aug 26, 2010 (AFP) – Teeming Hong Kong fell silent on Thursday mourning for eight tourists killed in a hostage bloodbath in Manila, after their bodies returned home amid growing outrage against Philippine authorities.
The southern Chinese territory held three minutes of silence with government work suspended and flags lowered to half-mast at a special ceremony overseen by Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang on the city's harbour waterfront.
Emotions are running high in Hong Kong over blunders by Philippine police in the chaotic climax to a day-long bus siege Monday, when a disgraced former policeman held a group of Hong Kong tourists hostage for 12 hours.
The bodies of the eight tourists killed at the end of the siege -- including three members of one family -- were flown back to Hong Kong on Wednesday, with bagpipers playing "Amazing Grace" at a mournful airport ceremony.
An elderly woman wept as she laid her hands on the coffin of the 31-year-old Hong Kong tour guide who was praised for alerting his travel agency to the crisis. Other relatives laid wreaths on victims' coffins.
Echoing calls by China's central government in Beijing, high-ranking Hong Kong official Henry Tang demanded that Manila "conduct a comprehensive, thorough and impartial investigation".
"We have been overwhelmed with grief by the events of the past three days," Tang, the Hong Kong government's chief secretary, told reporters.
"The truth would be the best consolation for victims and their families."
Chek Lap Kok airport, one of Asia's busiest, took part in the three-minute silence with tannoy announcements just before 8:00 am (0000 GMT) urging passengers and staff to pay their respects.
Report Courtesy of Yahoo News
