A day after 40 Indian workers were killed in a fire tragedy at a labour housing facility in Mangaf area of Kuwait, the authorities in Kerala on Thursday said that 24 of the deceased were from the southern state, according to multiple reports.
Some reports, citing Tamil Nadu Minister for Minorities Welfare and Non-Resident Tamils Welfare, Gingee KS Masthan, also suggested that five Tamils were among the dead in the Kuwait fire incident.
The victims have been identified as Rama Karuppan, Veerasamy Mariappan, Chinnadurai Krishnamurthy, Mohammed Sherif and Richard, belong to Thanjavur, Ramanathapuram and Peravurani regions of the state.
He said the Embassy (in Kuwait) has said that official information about the victims will be provided to the Tamil Nadu government.
“We are continuously monitoring,” Masthan said.
With the majority of deaths being from Kerala, the state Cabinet meeting, chaired Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, decided to send Health Minsiter Veena George immediately to Kuwait to coordinate the treatment of those injured, and to help bring bodies home.
The state government also announced Rs 5 lakh for the families of the deceased and one lakh rupees for those injured.
While the details of the all the dead are awaited, some of those identified by the authorities include Shameer Umarudheen (30), a resident of Kerala’s Kollam district, Sajan George, a native of Punalur in Kollam, Vadakkottuvilayil Lukose, a native of Kollam city, Akash S Nair, a native of Pandalam, PV Muraleedharan, a resident of Vazhamuttom, Pathanamthitta, and Chennasseril Saju Varghese, from Konni in Kerala.
According to a Hindu report, citing a senior official of NORKA Roots, the number of people from Kerala who died has risen to 24, while seven seriously injured persons from the southern state are being treated in various hospitals in the Gulf country.
The Department of Non-Resident Keralites’ Affairs (NORKA) was constituted by the State Government in 1996 to address the grievances of non-resident Keralites both in India and abroad and to establish a sustainable partnership with them.
Meanwhile, on the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, MoS KV Singh reached Kuwait on Thursday to oversee the assistance to those injured in the massive fire and for the early repatriation of the bodies of Indians killed in the incident.
He immediately rushed to Jaber hospital to ascertain well being of injured Indians in the fire incident on Wednesday.
“He met the 6 injured admitted at the hospital. All of them are safe,” Indian Embassy in Kuwait wrote on X.
At least 49 foreign workers, including over 40 Indians, were killed and 50 others injured in the fire on Wednesday at the seven-storey building housing 195 migrant workers in the southern city of Mangaf.
Kuwaiti authorities are conducting DNA tests on the bodies of those killed and an IAF aircraft is on standby to bring back the mortal remains of Indians killed in the incident, officials said in New Delhi on Thursday.
The fire erupted just after 4:00 am when the majority of the 196 all-men residents of the building were asleep. It resulted in huge thick clouds of black smoke that led to the suffocation of most of the victims, according to officials from the Interior Ministry and the fire department.
India’s mission in Kuwait is ascertaining the full details from the concerned Kuwaiti authorities over the incident.
Those injured are presently admitted to five government hospitals (Adan, Jaber, Farwaniya, Mubarak Al Kabeer and Jahra hospitals) in Kuwait and receiving proper medical care and attention. According to hospital authorities, most of the admitted patients are stable.
Following the incident, the Ambassador of India in Kuwait, Adarsh Swaika, immediately visited the location of the incident and also the hospitals to ascertain the welfare of the Indian nationals.
The Embassy continues to coordinate with local authorities to assist Indian nationals who have been injured in this unfortunate incident and extend all possible support. The Embassy is receiving full cooperation from the Kuwaiti authorities.
Deputy Premier, Defence and Interior Minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef Al-Sabah ordered the arrest of the Kuwaiti landlord of the building and the Egyptian guard of the building and warned officials not to release them without his permission.
The minister told reporters that the fire was a catastrophe, adding that from Thursday, teams from the municipality will begin inspecting all buildings and have the authority to remove any violation without any warning.
He said authorities would also start from Thursday to study the issue of overcrowding of expat workers in buildings and the failure to comply with safety conditions.
With inputs from agencies
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24 of 40 Indians killed in Kuwait fire tragedy were from Kerala, five from Tamil Nadu: Reports
