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- Most of the victims were from the southern state of Kerala
- Indians account for more than 30 percent of Kuwait’s workforce
NEW DELHI: India’s Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh arrived in Kuwait on Thursday to coordinate the repatriation of the remains of 40 Indians killed in a fire a day earlier.
The blaze broke out in a building housing foreign workers in the city of Mangaf on Wednesday morning.
Footage shared on social media showed flames engulfing the lower part of the six-story apartment block and thick black smoke billowing from the upper floors.
The Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior said that 49 people were killed in the incident and more than 50 injured. At least 40 of the dead were Indian nationals, according to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
The ministry said that “on the directions” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singh would “work toward early repatriation of mortal remains as well as for medical assistance to those injured.”
On his arrival on Thursday morning, he “immediately rushed to Jaber hospital to ascertain well-being of injured Indians in the fire incident yesterday. He met the six injured people admitted to hospital. All of them are safe,” the Indian embassy in Kuwait said on social media.
“(He) called on FM of Kuwait H.E. Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya in Kuwait. FM Yahya conveyed his condolences on the tragic incident. He assured full support including for medical care, early repatriation of mortal remains and investigation of the incident.”
Before leaving for Kuwait, Singh told local media that an Air Force aircraft would repatriate the remains of those killed and that DNA tests were underway as some of the bodies had been charred beyond recognition.
“As soon as the bodies are identified, the kin will be informed and our Air Force plane will bring the bodies back,” he said.
Most of the victims are believed to be from the southern Indian state of Kerala.
More than one million Indians are living and working in Kuwait, accounting for some 22 percent of the Gulf state’s population and 30 percent of its workforce.