The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Thursday that the Philippine Consulate General has received "unverified information" indicating that some Filipino workers were trapped inside buildings engulfed by a massive fire in Tai Po, New Territories, in Hong Kong.
In its statement, the DFA added that there are no confirmed reports of Filipinos among the casualties or injured.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs, through the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong, has not, as of this time, received any confirmed reports of Filipinos killed or injured as a result of the Level 5 fire at a residential complex in Tai Po in New Territories, Hong Kong,” the statement read.
DFA emphasized efforts by the Hong Kong Fire Services Department to extinguish the blaze remain ongoing.
Authorities noted that due to the fire’s scale and intensity, it may take time before the full extent of the damage as well as the number and identities of the victims can be determined.
“The Consulate General continues to coordinate with the Hong Kong Police Force and stands ready to assist any Filipino national who may be affected or injured in the fire,” the DFA added.
Authorities said, at least 36 people were killed and 279 were missing on Wednesday after Hong Kong's deadliest fire in three decades ripped through high-rise residential towers sheathed in flammable bamboo scaffolding.
Hours after the fire started in the northern Tai Po district, flames and thick smoke still engulfed the 32-storey towers where many people were believed trapped inside. Rescue workers swarmed the site as shocked inhabitants watched on.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known, but it was fanned by green construction mesh and bamboo scaffolding - a mainstay of traditional Chinese architecture but subject to a phase-out in Hong Kong since March for safety reasons.
Police arrested three men on suspicion of manslaughter over the fire, public broadcaster RTHK said, without giving more details.
A firefighter was among the 36 killed, and 29 people were in hospital, Hong Kong leader John Lee told reporters. Some 900 people were in eight shelters.
Hong Kong's Transport Department said that due to the fire, an entire section of the Tai Po Road, one of Hong Kong's two main highways, had been closed and buses were being diverted.
At least six schools will be closed on Thursday due to the fire and traffic congestion, the city's Education Bureau said.
It was Hong Kong's worst fire since 41 people died in a commercial building in the Kowloon district in November 1996. That fire was caused by welding during internal renovations.
