Portraits of courage: domestic helpers who stayed with their wards during Hong Kong fire

As Hong Kong reels from its deadliest fire in decades, a highly visible community of foreigners is also in mourning as it awaits the fate of at least 80 of its own who remain missing.

They are the domestic helpers who remain unaccounted for five days after the blaze, among more than 200 working in Wang Fuk Court, the site of the fiery inferno that has claimed 128 lives.

Seven Indonesians were confirmed dead, two others and a Filipino were injured, according to the consulates of the two countries.

At least 79 Indonesians and a Filipino are still missing and scores more have been displaced along with their employers.

Interviews by the Post with survivors and accounts by witnesses on social media painted portraits of courage of the helpers who stayed with their charges to the end.

Pita Hari, a 40-year-old Indonesian helper who has worked in Hong Kong for six years, was among the lucky ones who escaped to safety. She lived with her 75-year-old employer at Wang Fuk Court. But her friends remained unreachable.

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