19 OFWs safe in Hong Kong fire

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Thursday confirmed that 19 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were affected in a major fire that swept public housing apartments in Hong Kong’s Tai Po District.

In a press briefing held in Makati City, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan said that all 19 OFWs were safely rescued, and that the Philippine government remains in close coordination with them.

Of the 19 OFWs, Caunan said one OFW — whose call for help went viral online — was rescued and is currently confined in a hospital with her employer and her employer’s child.

“The one who is in the hospital now, just recently just arrived in Hong Kong. We are going to visit the family,” she said.

She added that several OFWs expressed concern over passports and employment contracts that were destroyed in the fire.

Philippine Consul General (PCG) in Hong Kong Romulo Victor Israel Jr. said in DAILY TRIBUNE’s digital show USAPANG OFW that one Filipino remains missing, along with the five-year-old child she was caring for, as reported by her employer.

“We also have one compatriot who is being searched for, reported by her employer as missing, and the five-year-old child she was caring for is also missing,” Israel said.

Caunan said the PCG along with the DMW-OWWA team are in Tai Po to visit the seven shelters organized by the Hong Kong government to check if there are still affected OFWs. So far, Israel noted that no Filipinos yet have sought refuge in these shelters.

There are around 230,000 Filipinos in Hong Kong, of whom 205,000 are domestic workers. The rest are permanent residents, professionals, and students.

Around 6,000 families live in the Tai Po district, many of whom employ Filipino domestic workers.

As of Thursday, Hong Kong news reports indicated that the fire death toll has jumped to 55.