Hong Kong migrant labour NGOs are working around the clock to locate domestic workers still missing after the fatal Tai Po fire and to support survivors, as more migrant workers have been confirmed dead in the tragedy.
At least seven Indonesian domestic workers have been killed in the blaze, the Indonesian consulate general in the city said on Saturday in a statement to reporters. A total of 140 Indonesian domestic workers lived at Wang Fuk Court, with 79 of their whereabouts still unverified, it added.
Also on Saturday, the Philippine consulate in Hong Kong said on social media that 78 of its nationals were “safe” with their “whereabouts confirmed.”
One Philippine national was injured, and another one was reported missing. Thirteen were listed as “for verification,” meaning they were not reported missing but “likely to be a resident of the area” whose “whereabouts [were] unknown.”
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun told reporters on Friday evening that three Indonesian workers and one Filipino worker were among the 128 fatalities.
A total of 12 migrant workers were still missing, Sun added, while authorities were “in the process of locating” 32 Filipino domestic workers.
Avril Rodriguez, head of development and communications at HELP for Domestic Workers, told HKFP on Saturday that the NGO had been receiving calls from employers looking for their domestic workers, as well as from residents who said their friends’ domestic workers had been injured or had passed away.
“Today we’re going to temporary shelters [where victims are staying] to see if we can find domestic workers to speak with and understand their needs,” she said, adding that they would also speak with employers of domestic workers.
Beyond immediate relief, the NGO is also considering the long-term needs of domestic workers whose livelihoods may be affected.
“What does it mean for them in terms of their income and their employment? Employers will also take time to get back on their feet. Domestic workers might not be able to have an active job,” she said.
Losing ‘everything’
At a podium in Kwong Fuk Estate next to Wang Fuk Court on Friday, volunteers – who were largely domestic workers mobilised by NGOs – sorted through clothes, toiletries and other supplies to be distributed to those affected.
One domestic worker who was caught in the fire with her employers, an elderly couple, came by and shared her experience with the volunteers. The three of them managed to escape, she said, but she was in tears as she recalled being unable to save their cat.
A Hong Kong-Filipino man, who gave only his first name, Isaiah, took the day off to volunteer. He said the domestic worker was too distraught to speak with the media but recounted her ordeal to reporters.
“She lost all her items, clothes and everything. She doesn’t have a sense of security anymore,” he said.
Isaiah said that the woman did not hear a fire alarm go off in her building and that they only became aware of the blaze when they smelled smoke.
She is now staying with her employers at their relatives’ home, Isaiah added.
At a press briefing on Thursday, authorities said an inspection by the Fire Services Department found the fire alarm system was faulty.
Sringatin, chairperson of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union, said she was aware of around 20 cases of people seeking the whereabouts of domestic workers caught in the fire.
“Some of the calls for help are [from] their friends in Hong Kong, and some of them are from relatives in Indonesia,” she told HKFP.
Edwina Antonio, executive director of Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge, said she was aware of one Filipino domestic worker in intensive care after suffering severe burns.
The domestic worker, Rhodora Alcaraz, had only been in Hong Kong for a few days and was at home with her employer and her three-month-old baby.
“Her post on Facebook became viral when she was asking for help, saying she was trapped inside the flat,” Antonio said.
She said she was unsure about the condition of the employer and the baby, but that the domestic worker was in critical condition.
‘We should fight for domestic workers’
The Wang Fuk Court fire was “largely put out” at around 10:20am on Thursday, more than 43 hours after it broke out in one of the estate’s buildings and engulfed six others, authorities said.
On social media platform Threads, some users said that just like the firefighter who perished while tackling the blaze, the domestic workers who lost their lives also died in the line of duty.
“We should fight for domestic workers to receive compensation,” one Threads user wrote in Chinese. “Many of them left their homes to earn money to raise their families. Now they have died in a foreign land.”
Other users asked where they could donate to support domestic workers affected by the fire.
On Saturday, Sun, the labour chief said in a press briefing that the government would provide “all the necessary assistance to all the foreign domestic workers.”
“I have to thank the foreign domestic helpers at Wang Fuk Court,” Sun said. “We understand many of them took care of elderly people and children” at the housing estate.
“Many of them stayed inside together with their employers, taking care of them even at the height of the fire,” he added.
The Hong Kong government has pledged to give HK$200,000 condolence money to households that have lost a family member in the blaze. However, it is unclear whether the payment will be disbursed to the families of migrant workers who died in the tragedy.
Some of the domestic workers were breadwinners for their families back home, said Antonio, of Bethune House. “So, if they lose everything, it will not be easy for them to recover.”
