At least 49 people, including 14 Malayalis, perished in a devastating fire that broke out in a six-story building in the Mangaf block of Kuwait’s Ahmadi Governorate on Wednesday. The death toll includes 42 Indians, with the remaining victims from Pakistan, the Philippines, Egypt, and Nepal. Among the Indian casualties are individuals from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh. The deceased Keralites have been identified as Akash S Nair (23), Umarudheen Shameer (33), Stefin Abraham Sabu (29), KR Ranjith (34), Kelu Ponmaleri (55), P V Muraleedharan, Sajan George, Lukose (48), Saju Varghese (56), Thomas Oommen, Viswas Krishnan, Nooh, MP Bahulayan, and Srihari Pradeep. At least 43 people were injured and admitted to various hospitals including Adan, Al-Farwaniya, Al-Amiri, Mubarak, and Jaber Al-Ahmed.
Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s directive, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, Kirti Vardhan Singh, is traveling to Kuwait to oversee the assistance provided to the injured Indians and ensure the early repatriation of the deceased’s remains. Authorities will conduct DNA testing to identify some of the victims. Meanwhile, PM Modi announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased Indian nationals. He chaired a review meeting at his residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg to discuss the tragedy, as confirmed by the Ministry of External Affairs.
The review meeting was attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Pramod Kumar Mishra, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, and other senior officials. The government’s focus is on providing immediate assistance to those affected and expediting the process of repatriation for the victims’ families.
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