Kuwait fire: IAF’s 130J brings back bodies of 45 Indian victims; Lulu Group announces relief fund

A special Indian Air Force aircraft, C-130J, carrying mortal remains of 45 Indian victims in the fire incident in Kuwait’s Mangaf, took off for Kochi early Friday morning.

Minister of state for external affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, who reached Kuwait on Friday morning and coordinated with Kuwaiti authorities to ensure swift repatriation, is also onboard the aircraft, the Indian embassy said.

“We have made all the required arrangements for receiving the bodies here. Ambulances have been arranged for each of the victims, and after that, a pilot (vehicle) will be arranged to take the ambulances to the destination. We are expecting bodies of other states also, and accordingly, we are taking the required measures. Family members would be coming here, we are also coordinating with them,” Putta Vimaladitya, DIG, Kochi Range, told reporters.

Kuwaiti authorities said they have identified the bodies of 45 Indians and three Filipino nationals killed in the devastating fire in a building housing foreign workers in southern Kuwait. At least 49 migrant workers were killed and 50 others injured in the blaze.

Earlier, an official from the department of Non-Resident Keralites’ Affairs (NORKA) unofficially said, according to information provided by its help desk in Kuwait, 24 Malayalees had died in the fire. Of these, 22 have been identified, he said. Previously, quoting information provided by Tamil associations based abroad, Tamil Nadu minister for minorities welfare and Non-Resident Tamils Welfare Gingee KS Masthan had told reporters that five persons from the state were killed.

Kuwait fire tragedy: Top 10 updates

Officials in Delhi said the IAF’s C-130J transport aircraft will bring back bodies on Friday, and it will first land in Kochi as most of the deceased Indians are from Kerala. The aircraft is then expected to reach Delhi as some of the Indians killed are from a few north Indian states, they said.

Kuwaiti authorities have already conducted DNA tests on the bodies as part of the identification process. The Kuwaiti Fire Force said the fire was caused by an “electrical circuit”.

Kirti Vardhan Singh separately met the Gulf nation’s foreign minister Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya, Al-Sabah and health minister Ahmad Abdelwahab Ahmad Al-Awadi. Kirti Vardhan Singh also visited Mubarak Al Kabeer Hospital and Jaber Hospital, where several injured Indians were admitted.

A Kuwaiti citizen and several foreigners were arrested in connection with charges of manslaughter and causing injuries due to negligence in security and safety measures following the fire incident. Sheikh Fahad is heading an overall inspection campaign on illegal properties in many areas of Kuwait on Thursday.

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah has issued directives for the distribution of financial assistance to the families of the deceased, Sheikh Fahad said, without mentioning the quantum of the compensation.

Prominent NRI businessman and chairman of UAE-based Lulu Group MA Yusuff Ali announced ₹5 lakh each for the families of the deceased in the tragic Kuwait fire tragedy. A sum of Rs. 5 lakh for each of the families of the deceased will be paid as part of this relief fund, a statement released by the group in Abu Dhabi said.

On Wednesday night, Prime Minister Modi reviewed the situation at a meeting with external affairs minister S Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra and principal secretary to PM PK Mishra among others.

Following the meeting, Prime Minister Modi announced ex gratia relief of ₹2 lakh from the PM Relief Fund to the families of the deceased Indian nationals and directed that the government extend all possible assistance.

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin said seven Tamils were among the dead in the Kuwait fire incident. The deceased have been identified as Veerasamy Mariappan of Thoothukudi, E Raju of Tiruchirappalli, Krishnamurthy Chinnadurai of Cuddalore, Sivasankaran Govindan of Royapuram, Chennai, P Richard of Thanjavur, Karuppannan Ramu of Ramanathapuram, and Mohamed Sharif of Villupuram.

The Andhra Pradesh government said three migrant workers from the state died in the recent fire incident in Kuwait. T Lokanandam from Srikakulam district, M Satyanarayana and M Eshwarudu from West Godavari district were identified among the deceased.

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government said three of the 45 Indians killed in the tragedy were identified as residents of the state. According to information received from the state’s Relief Commissioner’s Office on Thursday night, those who died in the incident in Kuwait include Praveen Madhav Singh of Varanasi, Jairam Gupta and Angad Gupta of Gorakhpur from Uttar Pradesh.