by Polly Hui

HONG KONG, CHINA - A plane carrying the bodies of eight people slain in the Manila bus hijacking - and most of the survivors - landed in Hong Kong Wednesday, amid deepening outrage over the rescue operation.

Family members of the victims of the bloody assault were also on board the flight chartered by the Hong Kong government, which left the Philippine capital on Wednesday evening.

About 100 journalists assembled on the tarmac at Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok airport to await the Cathay Pacific flight carrying the dead tourists, which touched down around 1150 GMT.

Bagpipers played 'Amazing Grace' as high-ranking government official Henry Tang and relatives of the dead laid wreaths on their coffins.

An elderly woman wept as she laid her hands on the coffin of the 31-year-old tour guide who was praised for alerting his travel agency to the crisis.

"The survivors and relatives were quite emotional when they boarded the plane in Manila and after seeing Henry Tang here," Hong Kong lawmaker Paul Tse told AFP.

"They are angry with the way the incident was handled by the Philippine government."

Tang, the city's chief secretary, later said Hong Kong has called on Manila "to conduct a comprehensive, thorough and impartial investigation."

"We have been overwhelmed with grief by the events of the past three days," he told reporters.

"The truth would be the best consolation for victims and their families." Tang said the city would observe three-minutes of silence Thursday morning in memory of the massacre's victims.

A disgruntled former police officer hijacked the bus, which the Hong Kong government said was carrying 21 Hong Kong tourists, in Manila on Monday. Eight of the tourists died in a shootout before the hijacker was shot dead.

One woman who survived but suffered bullet wounds will return to Hong Kong on a separate medical flight, while a seriously injured teenager will remain in a Manila hospital, local radio station RTHK reported.

Two elderly survivors who were unharmed flew back to Hong Kong on Tuesday.

Amy Ng, a survivor who lost three family members in the shootout, stayed behind in Manila while her 18-year-old son remains in intensive care, local media reported.

The coffins of Ng's husband and two daughters aged 21 and 14 were the firstto be unloaded from the plane.

The grief-stricken woman had earlier told media that her husband had died trying to shield his family.

Autopsies were carried out on the bodies of five victims in Manila, while the relatives of three others opted to have the post-mortem exam carried out in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post reported.

Hong Kong's Social Welfare Department will give victims and their families long-term counselling and financial support, the official Xinhua news agency reported, quoting a government spokesperson.

Monday's 12-hour standoff ended when police fired tear gas into the bus and a sniper shot the gunman in the head.

But by then eight of the tourists on board had been killed, sparking a torrent of criticism over the police tactics. --AFP