We want to stay in Hong Kong, say Filipino helpers who survived deadly blaze
Helpers who escaped inferno with children and elderly employers want to remain in city despite upheaval to their lives and emotional toll of tragedy
Filipino domestic helpers who survived Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades say they have no intention of leaving the city, even though they were traumatised by the tragedy.
Some of the 35 survivors attending a full-day fair at St John’s Cathedral in Central on Sunday told the Post about their ordeals after losing all their personal belongings in the inferno last month.
Some continued to work for their employers and had moved with them into transitional housing, but at least one had been laid off.
Jonalyn Duran, a 47-year-old widow, said she narrowly escaped with her 93-year-old boss after the fire broke out and spread rapidly across seven out of the eight towers at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po on November 26.
The blaze claimed 160 lives, including that of a firefighter, and six people remain missing. Nearly 5,000 residents lost their homes.
More than 200 domestic helpers were working at the estate, and nine Indonesians and a Filipino were among the victims.