Kuwait: At least 49 people, including 11 Malayalis, died in a massive fire in a six-storey building in Mangaf Block of Ahmadi province in Kuwait on Wednesday. According to reports, the casualties also include people from other Indian states like Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. The deceased also include 33-year-old Umaruddeen Shamir of Oyoor in Kollam. The condition of seven out of 35 admitted in the ICU is said to be critical. At least five people are on ventilator support. It is being said that more than 40 Indians have died in the accident.
The other Indians killed in the fire were Ranjit, Shibu Varghese, Thomas Joseph, Praveen Madhav, Lukose Vadakkot Unnunni, Bhunath Richard Roy Anand, Kelu Ponmaleri, Stephen Abraham Sabu, Anil Giri, Mohammed Sharif, Saju Varghese, Dwarikesh Patnaik, P V Muralidharan, Vishwas Krishnan, Arun Babu, Sajan George, Raymond, Jesus Lopez, Akash Sasidharan Nair and Danny Baby Karunakaran.
The building that caught fire housed more than 195 workers from the nearby commercial area, mostly from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and North India. The building belongs to the NBTC Group owned by Malayali businessman KG Abraham. Employees of NBTC’s supermarket also lived in the building.
Kuwait’s Deputy PM ordered action
Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister Fahd Youssef Al-Sabah visited the scene and ordered a police investigation into the matter. He has instructed the police to detain the building’s owner, its watchman and the employer of the workers living there until the criminal investigation into the fire is completed. He has also instructed Kuwait Municipality and the Public Authority for Manpower to take immediate action to look into similar violations where large numbers of workers are crowded into residential buildings.
Major General Eid Rashed Hamad said the incident was reported to authorities at 6:00 am local time (0300 GMT). Another senior police commander told state TV: “The building where the fire broke out was used for labour and housed a large number of workers. Most of the workers were rescued, but unfortunately there were several deaths due to the smoke from the fire.” “We always warn against cramming too many workers into accommodation,” he said, without giving details about the workers’ type of employment or place of origin.
Tags: Kerala, tamilnadu
FIRST PUBLISHED : June 12, 2024, 19:13 IST