Several Indians among 41 dead, dozens injured in Kuwait building fire
KUWAIT, JUN 12: At least 41 people were killed and dozens injured in a building fire in an area heavily populated with foreign workers in Kuwait, the interior ministry said on Wednesday.
Several Indians were feared to be among those killed, according to reports emanating from the Gulf nation.
Forty-three people were injured, the health ministry said, after the blaze broke out in a residential building south of Kuwait City at dawn.
The fire started in a kitchen in the six-storey building in the Mangaf area of Kuwait’s southern Ahmadi Governorate in the early hours of Wednesday, officials said.
The building reportedly had nearly 160 people living in it, who are workers of the same company. Many workers staying there were reportedly Indians.
“Deeply shocked by the news of the fire incident in Kuwait City. There are reportedly over 40 deaths and over 50 have been hospitalized. Our ambassador has gone to the camp. We are awaiting further information,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in a post on X.
“Deepest condolences to the families of those who tragically lost their lives. Wish early and full recovery to those who have been injured. Our Embassy will render the fullest assistance to all concerned in this regard,” he added.
“In connection with the tragic fire-accident involving Indian workers today, Embassy has put in place an emergency helpline number: +965-65505246. All concerned are requested to connect over this helpline for updates. Embassy remains committed to render all possible assistance,” the Indian Embassy in Kuwait said in a post on X.
“Unfortunately, we received a report of a fire at… exactly 6:00 am (0300 GMT) in the Mangaf area,” Major General Eid Al-Owaihan, director of the interior ministry’s General Department of Criminal Evidence, said during a visit to the site.
Forensic teams have identified three of the bodies, Owaihan added.
According to a source in the General Fire Department, the victims suffocated from rising smoke after the fire broke out on the ground floor.
The building’s owner has been detained in an investigation into potential negligence, Interior Minister Sheikh Fahd Al-Yousef said as he too visited the scene.
“What happened today is a result of the greed of the company and building owners,” the minister said in a statement as he visited the fire scene.
He said that he gave orders to Kuwait Municipality and the Public Authority for Manpower to launch immediate action to address similar violations where large numbers of workers are crammed into one residential building, and make sure that all safety requirements are in place in order to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Kuwait, like other Persian Gulf countries, has a large community of migrant workers who far outnumber the local population. Indians constitute 21 percent (1 million) of the total population of Kuwait and 30 percent of its workforce (approximately 9 lakh).
-The New Indian Expresss
