Eight tourists were shot by a rogue policeman who had hijacked their bus and held them hostage - he was later killed after the bus was stormed.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said it had offered consular assistance.
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Chinese government demands answers over Manila poilice tactics that led to deaths of 8 Hong Kong tourists and gunman
Jonathan Watts in Beijing
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 August 2010 12.07 BST
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Among the victims was the Asian managing director of the UK electronics manufacturer Stadium Group. Ken Leung, a Hong Kong citizen on holiday in Manila, died along with his two daughters, aged 14 and 21. His wife and 18-year-old son both survived, although the latter is in intensive care.
Mrs Leung told reporters: ""My husband is dead. he was very brave. He rushed forward from behind to stop him [the gunman] from killing. He sacrificed himself."
Another survivor, Wang Zhuoya, said she hid under a seat when the gunman started shooting. "Then the police dispersed gas. People in the bus were struggling. I could hear that many people couldn't breathe."
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The killings have sparked anger in Hong Kong, where several dozen protesters outside the Philippine consulate chanted: "Strongly condemn the Philippine government for being careless about human life."
The front-page headline of the local Ming Pao Daily News declared: "Filipino police incompetent." An editorial in the Hong Kong Economic Journal said: "Clearly, if local police used more decisive and professional rescue methods, maybe the bloody tragedy could have been avoided."
Internet commentators on the Chinese mainland were outraged. "It is not a rescue, it is a murder!" declared Jeasen.zhang on a Sina bulletin board. Another, going by the name Whoyoudaddy, said: "Maybe in the police's view, the Philippine hostage taker's life is more valuable than those Chinese hostages'."
The British government has yet to comment on the incident, but confirmed that two of the survivors were British nationals. "We have offered consular assistance and stand ready to provide it if requested," a foreign ministry spokesperson said.
• Additional reporting by Cui Zheng
Hostage rescue team 'bungled Philippines coach rescue'
Telegraph.co.uk
By Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok and Peter Foster in Beijing
Published: 12:02PM BST 24 Aug 2010
Two elderly British tourists narrowly escaped a bloodbath after police commandos in the Philippines botched the storming of a bus to end ten-hour drama that left eight hostages dead.
The ethnic Chinese couple, a man of 72 and his 66-year-old wife, were among nine hostages the police inspector disgruntled over his sacking had allowed off the bus five hours after the hijacking began.
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The British couple, who have not been named, were among nine hostages released earlier by the gunman.
British embassy consular staff in Manila on Monday spoke to the couple, who were unharmed.
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In Hong Kong, the leader of the Chinese territory, Donald Tsang, called the attack a tragedy, his voice choking in a rare display of emotion.
"It's disappointing that Hong Kong residents tried to make a pleasure trip to Manila and ended up with death and casualties," he said. "This is very tragic. And the way it was handled and particularly the outcome I found it disappointing."
In Hong Kong, flags on government buildings flew at half-mast and a few Chinese-language newspapers changed their mast-head colour from red to black, their front pages dominated by graphic photographs of the bloodbath.
The government's anger was reflected by the survivors. One said her husband and two daughters were killed in a hail of bullets while her son was in intensive care in hospital.
The woman, identified only as Mrs Leung, expressed her anguish to Hong Kong officials in remarks broadcast on Cable News TV.
"The Philippine government . . . I can't accept this. Why did they do this to us?" she said, sobbing. "[The gunman] did not want to kill us. He only shot us after the negotiations failed."
機警媽媽撒謊救小團友 11歲童幸逃離 父母中槍雙亡
(明報)2010年8月24日 星期二 05:10
【明報專訊】康泰旅行團昨被挾持逾11小時，最終釀成8死7傷慘劇，然而直至晚上7時15分開槍前，旅遊巴上一直十分平靜，兇徒既沒恐嚇團友，而且先後釋 放車上老弱婦孺。昨日中午獲准帶同兩名年幼子女離開的符太，見車上仍有一名同團的11歲姓汪男童，即機警地向兇徒表示該男童是其親戚，要求帶同離開，結果 獲兇徒首肯，令汪童逃離險境，然而汪童父母最終雙雙中槍身亡，符的丈夫亦證實遇難。
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最先獲釋的團友是66歲婆婆李鳳貴，她在上午10時許，因為肚痛要上洗手間，獲准由當地導遊Diana Chan陪同離開，換上2名當地的攝影人員當人質。Diana Chan是菲籍華人，能說流利廣東話，她昨晚在醫院向記者表示，巴士被挾持後，她向兇徒哀求，表示自己早幾年喪夫，兒子又將畢業，自己健康亦有問題，要求 兇徒放過她，結果Diana獲准與李婆婆率先離開。
至約12時半，兇徒再釋放人質，分別是4歲女童符頌賢及其10歲哥哥符澤賢，他們獲准與40歲母親曾綺麗離開。曾綺麗下車時見同團尚有另一11歲男 孩汪正日，遂向兇徒訛稱男孩是其親屬，獲兇徒放行，令汪童亦能逃離。但當時曾綺麗的丈夫及親人仍在車上，故他們下車時神情驚恐。符太的機警表現，事後獲網 友大加讚揚。
兇徒送72歲糖尿翁下車
到了下午1時半，全團年紀最大的72歲李奕彪亦獲釋，兇徒並主動送他下車，他表現尚算鎮定。李伯是首名獲釋團友李鳳貴的丈夫，患有糖尿病 ，他獲釋後表示因隨身藥物已吃完，加上證件留在車上，故希望可盡快返港。李氏夫婦是暫時唯一已知可全身而退的家庭，因為這次只是兩老跟團旅遊，同行並無其他親戚。所有獲釋團友事後均被送往警察局接受醫生及心理輔導，之後轉往酒店休息。
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英國政府終於發現原來有國民在車上....
在我電郵BBC之後, 要等幾個小時, BBC段新聞才出街... (當然, 我相信不只我一個人告訴BBC: 車上的香港人有人是英國公民, 問問英國政府, 你們究竟做了些什麼....)
又原來那兩位先後獲釋的老先生夫婦是英國公民...
我昨天今天都真沒心情. 不單為死者哀悼, 更是驚覺, 全世界的政府都是"慢半拍".... 菲律賓, 中國, 中國香港特區, 英國, 加拿大....各地政府: 你們做了些什麼?
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