49 dead including 42 Indians killed in Kuwait fire

NEW DELHI: 49 individuals including 42 Indians have lost their lives in the Al-Mangaf building incident in Kuwait. Media reports that the remaining ones are Pakistani, Filipino, Egyptian and Nepali nationals.

According to reports on June 12, over 50 people were injured in a devastating fire that broke out at dawn in a building housing around 195 migrant workers in southern Kuwait’s Mangaf area.

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“In an unfortunate and tragic fire incident earlier today in a Labour housing facility in Mangaf area of Kuwait, around 40 Indians are understood to have died and over 50 injured,” the ministry of external affairs said in a statement  after the incident.

The fire started early Wednesday morning in a kitchen on a lower floor and quickly spread throughout the building, trapping many people inside.

The incident has triggered calls for action against landlords and company owners who, according to media sources, “violate the law by housing large numbers of foreign laborers in extremely unsafe conditions to cut costs.” According to officials, the Construction firm NBTC group, which is partly owned by an Indian, has rented the building for the stay of more than 195 workers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced ex-gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the deceased Indian nationals from the PM Relief Fund. PM Modi, who described the incident as “saddening”, has also directed that the government should extend all possible assistance. He had reviewed the situation at a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, and Principal Secretary to PM PK Mishra among others.

External Affairs Minister Jaishankar spoke to his Kuwaiti counterpart, Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya, over the phone, stressing the need for the prompt repatriation of the mortal remains of the deceased. Union Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh remarked that some bodies have been so severely burnt that they are unrecognizable. Vardhan has departed for Kuwait to assess the situation firsthand. “Once we arrive there, the full extent of the situation will become clear,” stated Kirti Vardhan.