Jakarta. Indonesia has begun the repatriation process for the bodies of nine citizens who had died in the catastrophic Hong Kong high-rise fire.

In late November, a blaze engulfed Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court apartment complex and claimed 160 lives, 9 of whom were Indonesians. The Indonesian government recently said that they had kept in touch with their families early this month for both the paperwork and the victims’ paychecks. The Indonesian Embassy in Hong Kong has facilitated the arrangements for the return of the victims’ remains. The Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry is entirely funding the return of eight remains.

“One victim’s repatriation is being funded by the employer,” a statement by the ministry reads.

The body of the victim, known by the initial N, had already arrived at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport on Dec. 21. N’s remains are bound for the West Java regency of Indramayu. The others will arrive in Indonesia on Dec. 23-25. The victims had come from different parts of the Java island.

The government reported that 140 Indonesians were living in the affected area, all registered as domestic workers, when the fire broke out. As many as 130 survived the blaze, while nine passed away. One person’s whereabouts remain unknown to this day. 

The inferno became Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades. The blaze began in scaffolding erected around the Wang Fuk Court complex for maintenance work. It later spread to seven of the eight towers.

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