KILLER IN MANILA
Manila attack leaves 36 dead after ‘English-speaking’ gunman storms Resorts World casino in bid to steal £1.7m before setting it on fire
Cops think the attacker 'either wanted to recoup his losses or he went totally nuts'
AT least 36 people have been killed after a "white gunman speaking English" stormed a Manila casino, stole £1.7million worth of chips and set fire to gambling tables before burning himself to death.
Filipino police have this morning released chilling CCTV stills of a man believed to be the killer stalking the casino's corridors with an assault rifle in hand.
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Investigators this morning added they are searching for a Filipino "person of interest" over the attack that left a further 70 injured.
The Foreign Office this morning said it is not aware of any Brits involved in the attack.
Most of the victims are thought to have been women who suffocated on smoke from the fires as desperate guests and gamblers clambered over each other to get to the exits in a rush to save their lives.
Explosions were also heard coming out of the building in what guests described as "two hours of panic" with some people said to be leaping from balconies to save themselves.
The man, who is thought to be a white “English speaker” with a moustache, raced into the second floor of the Resorts World Manila casino shortly after midnight and fired an assault rifle at betting machines and TV screens.
As terrified guests began screaming and running for their lives, the gunman pulled out a bottle of gasoline, poured it over gaming tables and set it ablaze.
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He then stuffed his rucksack with 311m Philippine pesos - £1.7million - of casino chips before fleeing in the mayhem.
Police immediately swarmed the hotel and began sweeping through the smoke-filled complex before finding the attacker in one of the hotel rooms dead, having set himself on fire.
The hotel claims he also shot himself.
National police chief Ronald dela Rosa said: "He burned himself inside the hotel room 510.
"He lay down on the bed, covered himself in a thick blanket and apparently doused himself in gasoline."
The casino chips were in a bag in the toilet.
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A Manila police chief later said: "He looks Caucasian, he talks English, he's big and he's white, so he's probably a foreigner."
Local chief of police, Oscar Albayalde, added: "It's either he lost in the casino and wanted to recoup his losses or he went totally nuts."
More than 50 people have been raced to hospital after the attack – which police were quick to deny was terror, despite the nation being gripped in a fight with ISIS.
It is claimed the bodies were found on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the casino area.
None of the victims had been shot, police said.
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Heavily-armed police swarmed the hotel in the moments after the robbery as horrified witnesses claimed it was a terror attack.
ISIS initially claimed "lone wolf soldiers" carried out the attack, according to the SITE Intelligence Group that monitors terrorist organisations.
Police described the gunman as “foreign-looking, a Caucasian, about six feet tall” and said he spoke English.
Mr dela Rosa told local media: "We cannot attribute this to terrorism. We are looking into a robbery angle because he did not hurt any people and went straight to the casino chips storage room.
"He parked at the second floor and barged into the casino, shooting large TV screens and poured gasoline on a table setting it on fire."
Footage posted on social media shows scores of people frantically running from the hotel and casino complex as loud bangs were heard.
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Chilling photos from the scene shows victims lying down while others were seen being carried out of the building.
Johnny Ordanza, an employee of the hotel, said he saw the gunman setting tables on fire on the second floor of the casino and firing shots.
He told Manila radio station DZMM: “There were other gunmen because we can hear gunshots elsewhere."
“They were not targeting the casino players, and we rushed out through the emergency exits.”
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A casino worker from the third floor, named Julio, told DZMM radio he heard many gunshots and saw people running up the stairs from the second floor.
Ronald Romualdo, a maintenance worker at Resorts World, told the station he saw a woman fall from an upper floor while trying to escape.
He said: "Several people were injured."
Kara Verano, who took footage of people fleeing the hotel lobby, wrote on Facebook: "We were just eating at Bulgogi when we heard gunshots other customers said that there were men coming out of the casino wearing masks and armed.
"We got stuck in the restaurant's storage room for almost two hours with continuous gunshots coming from outside and smell something is burning.
"I wasn't sure if it was a teargas or something is actually burning... it was as if impossible to breakout."
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Donald Trump expressed sadness and sympathy for victims.
The US president said: "Our thoughts and our prayers are with all of those affected."
Resort owner Travellers International Hotel Group Inc said in a statement: "We have been informed of several casualties, the number and identities of whom have yet to be determined."
Dozens of police trucks and SWAT teams lined side streets near the hotel, casino and shopping mall complex as the drama unfolded.
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Resorts World Manila is situated opposite the Ninoy Aquino International Airport - one of the busiest airport terminal in the country.
It features four hotels, several bars, as well as a casino, shopping centre and a cinema.
The incident comes as authorities are currently battling Islamic State militants in the south of the country.
President Rodrigo Duterte sent soldiers to the city of Marawi - where clashes there have left at least 171 people dead.
Duterte imposed martial law last week across the southern region of Mindanao to crush what he said was a rising threat of Islamic State.
It has sparked fears that the militants may attack elsewhere to divert the focus of thousands of troops trying to quell the siege.
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