Hong Kong Residents and Migrant Workers Mourn Victims of Deadly Tai Po Fire | Viory

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More than a thousand people gathered on Sunday to honor the victims of the devastating fire at a public housing estate in Tai Po, Hong Kong — the city's deadliest blaze in decades. The tragedy has claimed 146 lives, with around 150 individuals still reported missing.

Long lines of mourners formed near the fire site, as people laid down flowers, handwritten cards, soft toys, and drawings in tribute. The somber atmosphere was marked by quiet tears and collective grief.

Among those confirmed dead are at least eight domestic workers — seven from Indonesia and one from the Philippines — according to statements released by the respective consulates.

When the fire broke out, many of them were with young kids and the elderly -- the people they were taking care of.

"When I heard the fire, it made me so sad because I know it's not easy. They really cannot leave the building because they are domestic workers," said Sringatin, the spokesperson of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union.

Apin Sunbanu, an Indonesian domestic worker, said her friend returned to the burning building to bring down the Grandpa she was taking care of. Luckily, they both survived.

Aside from seeking temporary shelters, one of the immediate challenges faced by the migrant worker survivors was to recover their personal documents.

"Some of the survivors don't have any documents," said Sringatin, the spokesperson of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union. "So we want to ask the Hong Kong government or the Indonesian government to waive the fees for any kind of replacement of the data."

The fire has shaken the city’s migrant worker community, many of whom live and work in the city’s residential estates.

Migrant worker unions and NGOs held memorials across the city. At Victoria Park and near Tai Po MTR station, both popular gathering spots for domestic workers on Sunday, their only day off every week, makeshift prayer spaces were created using plastic sheets and bags.

More than a thousand migrant workers gathered to pray, offering flowers and fruit, many in tears as they remembered friends and fellow workers lost in the tragedy.

00:00:58 to 00:01:16 SOT, mourner, Indonesian

Thank you very much for your friends who have come together to help, to pray, to support. Hopefully, in the protection of Allah SWT, we are motivated, we fight.

00:01:16 to 00:01:29 SOT, mourner, Indonesian

We pray for those who are left behind, those who become victims, our brothers and sisters, friends of the KJRI Hong Kong, who are the fighters of the Pahlawan Devisa.

00:02:22 to 00:02:36 SOT, Sringatin, spokesperson of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union

Some of the survivors don't have any documents. So we want to ask the Hong Kong government or the Indonesian government, to waive the fees for any kind of replacement of the data.

00:03:04 to 00:03:24 SOT, mourner, Apin Sunbanu, Indonesian

I feel sad, very sad, because there are so many Indonesian friends who are lost, their families are also lost, and many have not been found.

00:04:20 to 00:04:36 SOT, Sahlan, member of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union, Indonesian

Why is this so important? Because this is our effort to unite the migrant workers, to encourage them to care for each other, to help each other with the migrant workers.

00:04:36 to 00:04:56 SOT, Sahlan, member of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union, Indonesian

So we ask the government of Hong Kong to give the victims of the fire understanding, so they don't have to leave Hong Kong to find a new job. Because they are also the backbone of the family, they need a job for the family at home.

00:05:27 to 00:05:41 SOT, Sringatin, spokeperson of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union

For me, like, I cannot imagine how people inside of the building when they are panic. And then this is not only just they are working, but they are really showing the loyalty, their responsibility to, you know, the people.

00:06:12 to 00:06:28 SOT, Sringatin, spokeperson of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union

They are not only just working in Hong Kong, but they are really sacrificed their life. So when we heard about the, you know, it's make me so sad because I know it's not easy when I saw the, you know, how they are really cannot leave the, you know, the building because they are domestic worker.

00:06:56 to 00:07:15 SOT, mourner, Apin Sunbanu, English

There is one of our friends from East Nusa Tenggara, but luckily, she go down to buy rice, and then when she came back, she saw the fire, she saw the fire, so just go up and then bring the grandpa down, and then, so they are survived, yeah.

East Nusa Tenggara