A special Indian Air Force Aircraft carrying the bodies of the 45 Indians who died in a fire in Kuwait has landed in Kerala’s Kochi.
Minister of State of MEA Kirti Vardhan Singh who was rushed to Kuwait after the fire was reported on Wednesday is also on board.
Among the 45 Indians who died in the massive fire at a building in Kuwait’s Mangaf city, 23 are from Kerala, seven from Tamil Nadu, three from Uttar Pradesh, two from Odisha, and one each from Bihar, Punjab, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Haryana.
The six-storeyed building housed around 200 people, mostly foreign workers, out of which 45 died while 33 are hospitalised.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh for the injured.
Arrangements at Kochi airport
Kerala’s Health Minister Veena George and Revenue Minister K Rajan are present at the airport while Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will arrive shortly.
“All arrangements have been made, ambulances are ready. Police will be accompanying all the bodies,” George said.
The health minister was asked to travel to Kuwait after reports suggested that most of those who died were from Kerala. However, George has claimed that she was not allowed to fly out.
“It is very unfortunate that we did not get the consent (to travel to Kuwait). More than half of the people who died were from Kerala. The majority of the people who are under treatment are also from Kerala,” she said.
“The Embassy did not give us the exact data on the number of seriously injured people. The data that we have collected from there is that a total of 7 people have been admitted to the hospital and 4 of them are from Kerala, but this is not officially declared. The purpose of my visit (to Kuwait) was that I wanted to be with the injured and bring their needs to the attention of the Central Government,” the health minister added.
Kuwait launches probe
Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Wednesday ordered an immediate probe into the accident and vowed to punish those responsible for the fire.
While there is no official word on what caused the fire, Kuwait’s public prosecutor has begun its investigation into the matter.
Some locals have said that a gas leak might have caused the fire.
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Kuwait Fire: IAF plane carrying bodies of 45 Indians lands in Kerala
