MANILA, Philippines - Canada revealed on Wednesday that 3 of the 8 victims in the hostage crisis were citizens of the country.

In a press release, Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade also confirmed that 2 others had been involved but have otherwise survived the incident.

It did not give further details for reasons of the Privacy Act.

While this may not bode well for the government that has been heavily criticized for its handling of the crisis, the Canadian embassy here committed to “work closely with local authorities.”

“Canadian consular officials have offered consular assistance to those involved,” it said.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said: “It is a terrible and tragic incident, and obviously I want... to express my condolences on... behalf of the entire government to the families of those who have lost loved ones in this particular tragedy.”

For his part, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said “Canada welcomes the commitment of Philippine authorities to conduct a full investigation of the incident.”

In a related development, BBC News reported that 2 British nationals are among those who survived the hostage crisis.

On its website, BBC said a spokesman for the foreign office had already offered its consular assistance.