At least two Indonesian domestic workers were killed and seven others remained unaccounted for Saturday after a fierce five-alarm fire ripped through a public housing block in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district, authorities and migrant advocacy groups said.
The Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Hong Kong confirmed the deaths of two Indonesian nationals in the blaze at Wang Fuk Court and said two additional people were injured. The fire, which sent thick black smoke billowing over the New Territories neighborhood, prompted a large-scale emergency response.
Sringatin, spokesperson for the Asian Migrants’ Coordinating Body (AMCB), told the Associated Press that the whereabouts of the seven missing Indonesian domestic workers were still unknown. “We do not yet know if they remain inside the building or if they have been rescued and taken to hospital,” she said. She called on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government to immediately share information with Indonesian authorities and facilitate coordination.
Firefighters battled the blaze for hours after it broke out early Saturday in the 36-story block of Wang Fuk Court, a public rental housing estate. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
Domestic workers from Indonesia and the Philippines form the backbone of Hong Kong’s household labor force, with more than 370,000 foreign domestic helpers living and working in the city, many in cramped subdivided units or quarters attached to their employers’ apartments.
Authorities have not released the identities of the deceased pending notification of next of kin. An investigation into the fire is underway.
