Tang and her colleagues, including clinical psychologists, stayed there with the families and cared for them, with some too shocked to handle the news.

“They just couldn’t focus,” she recalled.

Advice given by volunteers to the grieving include tips such as how to steady their nerves as family members took turns identifying the bodies.

Tang said: “We just stayed by their side and told them they could trust us and tell us how they felt.”

Dr Eliza Cheung Yee-lai, clinical psychologist cum service-in-charge of the support service, said it was important for bereaved families to know that someone was with them in their darkest moments.

“They are not alone,” she said, adding the volunteer team could sometimes provide some very practical help, such as calling a taxi for families who wanted to leave a morgue but were too preoccupied with their loss.

For their selfless work, the Psychological Support Service Volunteer Team has earned a nomination for this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards.

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The annual event, co-organised by the Post and property developer Sino Group, honours the achievements of remarkable people whose endeavours may otherwise go unnoticed.

Bonnie So of Hong Kong Red Cross recommended the volunteer team for the Spirit of Teamwork category, which recognises unsung groups embracing their roles as socially responsible corporate citizens.

The team, comprising about 230 volunteers, aims to provide timely psychological support service for those who are affected by disasters or emergencies in the city and overseas.

Members take into account the nature of a disaster or emergency, and clients’ conditions when deciding what kind of help to render. Services provided include personal or group emergency support, education, psychological support hotline, and outreach services. Over the past five years, the team has helped a total of 36,553 people.

Those whose lives it has touched in Hong Kong included people affected by the 2017 subway arson attack, and when Typhoon Mangkhut lashed the city in 2018.

“We watch 24-hour TV news and stay on call around the clock,” Tang said.

An NGO project consultant by profession, she said she always made sure she was physically and emotionally ready before embarking on each mission.

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Cheung said members of the volunteer team, who came from various sectors, had undergone rigorous training, noting the provision of emergency support service was not for the faint-hearted.

“Our volunteers may need to go to morgues [to look at the deceased],” she said. “We maintain a high standard of service, because we need to ensure the well-being of our volunteers as well as the delivery of quality support.”

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