Hong Kong Apartment Fire Kills 9 Indonesian Citizens, MPR Asks Government Not To Ignore PMI Protection

Illustration of firefighters. (Unsplash-Birgit Lengert)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly Ahmad Muzani expressed his condolences for the deaths of nine Indonesian citizens (WNI), most of whom were Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) who were victims of severe fires in the Tai Po area, Hong Kong.

Muzani urged the Government, in this case the Ministry of Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (Ministry of P2MI) to think about the governance of the protection of Indonesian migrant workers as a whole, including the socialization of emergency mitigation from residential fires in placement countries.

"Yes, it is also another disaster that occurred to our workers in Hong Kong. There was an apartment unit that experienced a big fire. Inside the apartment, many of our workers worked in the apartment and there were a number of people, a number of people who were victims of the fire. Of course this is an alarming situation," said Muzani at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Monday, December 1.

"We are all sorry for the death of a number of our workers in Hong Kong. But I also think this should have started to think about emergency mitigation if something like this happens," he continued.

Muzani assessed that emergency mitigation needs to be considered because on average Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong work in a fairly high apartment. Where in addition to fires, there is also the potential for earthquakes.

"In apartments where the level is quite high, there is a risk that there is a possibility of a fire like what happened yesterday, but there is also an earthquake risk. If those two possibilities happen, what should be done? The mitigation must begin to be considered as a way to save, to minimize human casualties," said Muzani.

As is known, the number of Indonesian citizens who were killed in the Wang Fuk Court apartment fire incident in Tai PO, Hong Kong continues to grow. The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemlu) reported the death toll to 9 people, as of Sunday, November 30, yesterday.

This incident is one of the deadliest in the region. To date, the total death toll in the massive fire incident has reached more than 100 people, with hundreds still reported missing.

The Indonesian government through the Indonesian Consulate General in Hong Kong continues to coordinate with local authorities to deal with Indonesian citizens victims and ensure their rights are fulfilled. Data on Indonesian citizens who were killed also continues to grow as the identification process progresses.

The total number of victims of the Indonesian citizen who died has been confirmed to be 9 people and 3 injured. Previously, it was reported that 140 Indonesian citizens, all Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) in the domestic sector at Wang Fuk Court, and 61 of them have been confirmed.