The Indian Embassy in Kuwait has established a helpline +965-65505246 for family members to get in touch
New Delhi: More than 40 Indians were killed and over 50 injured on June 12 in a fire that broke out in a building that housed over 195 migrant workers in southern Kuwait's Mangaf area. The total number of people killed in the fire incident is 49, of which 42 are learned to be Indians.
Pakistani, Filipino, Egyptian, and Nepali nationals are also among the deceased and wounded. According to Arab Times, most of the deceased were from Kerala and Tamil Nadu with their age ranging from 20 to 50 years.
Officials said that most of the deaths were due to smoke inhalation as the residents were asleep when the fire broke out at 6 am in a kitchen on one of the lower floors of the building in the Mangaf area in Kuwait's southern Ahmadi Governorate.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an urgent meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, and Principal Secretary to Prime Minister PK Mishra. After this meeting, the PM announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the deceased Indian nationals from the PM Relief Fund.
The MEA further mentioned that the Indian embassy in Kuwait is ascertaining the full details of the incident from the Kuwaiti authorities. "Those injured are presently admitted in 5 government hospitals (Adan, Jaber, Farwaniya, Mubarak Al Kabeer and Jahra) in Kuwait and receiving proper medical care and attention," the statement mentioned. It added that as per the hospital authorities, most of the admitted patients are in stable condition.
Kuwait's health ministry said the injured were admitted to several hospitals, with 21 of them sent to Al-Adan Hospital, six to Farwaniya Hospital, one to Al-Amiri, and 11 to Mubarak Hospital.
Indian Ambassador to Kuwait Adarsh Swaika immediately visited the incident site and also the hospitals to ascertain the condition of those injured. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh is also urgently traveling to Kuwait to oversee the assistance to Indians injured in the fire. Singh has been tasked to ensure early repatriation of mortal remains of those killed in the fire.
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Kuwait's deputy prime minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousuf Al-Sabah, who is also the minister of interior, said the fire mishap was a “result of the greed of the company and building owners”. The building is rented by the NBTC group, reportedly owned by Malayali businessman KG Abraham. Al-Sabah has ordered police to arrest the owner of the building, the building's janitor, as well as the owner of the company responsible for the workers, the Kuwait Times reported.
