Kuwait fire: IAF aircraft on standby to bring mortal remains of 40 deceased Indians home

Kuwait fire: The mortal remains of around 40 Indians, who were killed in a fire in Southern Kuwait’s Mangaf area, are likely to be brought back to the country by the air force. Kuwaiti authorities are conducting DNA tests on the remains of those killed in the devastating fire, and an IAF aircraft is on the standby to bring the remains back home. 

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh left for Kuwait following the devastating incident, following a direction from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to oversee the assistance to the Indians injured in the fire as well as the early repatriation of the mortal remains of those killed.

Forty-two of the 49 deceased are believed to be Indians, while the rest are Pakistani, Filipino, Egyptian and Nepali nationals. 

According to a report by news agency Reuters, several Indians from Kerala are believed to have died in the fire. A government agency for Keralites living outside the state said that they have been told by the Indian community that 11 individuals from Kerala had died in the fire. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had also written a letter regarding the casualties to the foreign minister. 

Kuwaiti media reported that most of the deaths were caused due to smoke inhalation. The fire was reported to authorities in Al-Ahmadi governorate at 4:30 am on Wednesday. 

The Ministry of External Affairs, in a late-night statement on Wednesday, confirmed that around 40 Indians were killed in the labour housing facility in Mangaf. PM Modi reviewed the situation in a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra and Principal Secretary to PM PK Mishra.

The PM announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the deceased Indians from the PM Relief Fund. 
Kuwait Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Fahad Yusuf Saud Al-Sabah blamed the “greed of real-estate owners” for the incident.