Authorities in Hong Kong are still looking for a Filipina domestic worker who remained unaccounted for following a destructive fire that tore through a high-rise residential complex in Tai Po, even as another overseas Filipino worker fights for her life in a hospital’s intensive care unit.
Foreign Affairs spokesperson Angelica Escalona said late Thursday, November 27, that both women are domestic helpers based in Hong Kong. She confirmed that one has been hospitalized in critical condition, while the other has yet to be found.
The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong has been coordinating with the territory’s Police Force, Labour Department, and Home Affairs Department to determine the missing worker’s location and assess the situation of other affected Filipinos. “Mahigpit na mino-monitor ng Department ang sitwasyon sa Tai Po,” Escalona said. She also thanked Hong Kong authorities “na tumutulong sa paghahanap, pagkilala at pag-asikaso sa mga apektadong Pilipino.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs reported that 23 Filipino domestic workers have already received assistance from the Consulate, the Migrant Workers Office, and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. Teams from the three agencies jointly visited government shelters in Hong Kong to extend aid to displaced OFWs.
While Philippine officials focused on locating the missing Filipina, Hong Kong authorities on Friday released updated figures showing that at least 94 people were confirmed dead in what has been described as the territory’s worst fire in several decades. Firefighters had nearly extinguished the blaze, but search operations continued in parts of the compound where several buildings had been heavily damaged.
