Filipina who rescued baby in Hong Kong apartment fire still recovering in the hospital

A Filipina domestic helper who rescued a three-month-old baby during the Wang Fuk Court apartment fire in Hong Kong's Tai Po district is still in the hospital.

According to a TV Patrol report, Rhodora Alcaraz remains in the intensive care unit but is recovering.

"Noong huli ko siyang nadalaw, Sabado, naka-tube pa rin siya, sedated,"  Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong's Romulo Israel Jr. told DZMM Teleradyo. "Kahapon, wala na po 'yung tube. Nakakapagsalita na po siya kahit mahina."

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, on Nov. 29, reported that Alcaraz saved a baby during the fire. It said that she was in the ICU but was stable and responding to treatment.

In a New York Times article, her sister Jacqueline Tuñacao narrated that Alcaraz, who was just starting as a housekeeper, was inside her employer’s apartment when the fire broke out.

By 3 p.m., Alcaraz sent her family an audio message, informing them that she was stuck in a room, holding a baby while their building burned. 

“I told her to be strong, to find a way out,” Tuñacao said. “She said she couldn’t leave the baby, and I didn’t know how to help her when she was so far away,” she told the outlet.

She added that Alcaraz remained trapped with the baby the whole night before firefighters rescued them. 

Alcaraz, who has seven other siblings, worked for two years in Qatar before she took a job in Hong Kong.

"We are poor. Our father is just a fisherman, that is why she decided to work abroad to help the family," Alcaraz's younger sister, Raychell Loreto, told Reuters.

"We are so proud of our sister," she added.

As of 2 p.m., the consulate said that 89 Filipinos in Hong Kong are safe and accounted for, one is injured and hospitalized, two are left for verification, and one has died. (with reports from REUTERS)