Bodies Of 45 Indian Nationals Brought To Kochi, MoS Kirti Vardhan Singh Says Kuwait Govt 'Seriously' Probing Tragic Fire

The mortal remains of 31 Indians, including 23 Malayalees, who died in the Kuwait fire tragedy were received at the international airport here on Friday by Central and state ministers.

An Indian Air Force (IAF) flight carrying the mortal remains of 45 Indians who died in the tragic fire incident in Kuwait two days ago, landed at the airport at around 10.30 am. Of the 45 mortal remains carried by the IAF C30J aircraft, 31 were received at the airport. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh on board, who was instrumental in the swift repatriation of mortal remains, stated the Kuwaiti government has taken the fire incident seriously.

“They are making inquiries as to how it happened so that this kind of a tragic incident is never repeated. They have also assured us that all the paperwork,” he said. After arriving at the CIAL earlier today, all customs, immigration, and airport health office procedures for the 45 bodies were completed. Thirty-one bodies from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka were offloaded here. After clearance, the remaining 14 bodies will be sent to Delhi in the same aircraft as a domestic flight.

“I want to pay my heartfelt condolences to the families of the people who lost their lives in this accident. It is a very tragic incident and we are all very sad about it. The moment our Govt got to know that this incident had taken place, PM Modi immediately convened a meeting and instructed us to reach Kuwait immediately and take all possible steps so that the mortal remains could be brought back as soon as possible,” MoS MEA told ANI.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, other top ministers, and opposition leaders paid tribute to the mortal remains of the deceased who hail from Kerala. “It is a very unfortunate incident but the Central government and the MEA have taken up the issue very seriously and the procedures were carried out quickly in Kuwait and the bodies are coming today. All procedures were completed by yesterday evening itself. We will visit the houses of all deceased and offer our condolences to the families,” Kerala BJP President K Surendran was quoted as saying by ANI.

In an earlier statement, the Indian Mission in Kuwait said, “The deceased are from Kerala (23), Tamil Nadu (7), Andhra Pradesh (3), UP (3), Odisha (2), Bihar, Punjab, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Haryana (1 each). The mortal remains would be handed over to concerned State Government representatives in Kochi and Delhi.”

Kuwaiti authorities on Thursday confirmed the identification of 45 Indian and three Filipino nationals among the deceased after the blaze claimed the lives of at least 49 migrant workers and left 50 others injured. Out of the 176 Indians in the housing facility, 33 are in various hospitals, 45 have succumbed to fatalities, and the rest are reportedly safe. Earlier, Kuwaiti authorities conducted DNA tests on the bodies as part of the identification process. Kuwaiti Fire Force said the deadly fire was caused by an “electrical circuit”.

In a press statement, Kuwaiti authorities said the conclusion was arrived at after examination of the scene of the incident, Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported. Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousuf Al-Sabah, serving as the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior, and Minister of Defence, said that authorities have identified 48 bodies, among which 45 are of Indians and three are of Filipino nationality, English language daily Arab Times reported.

MoS Kirti Vardhan Singh, who was in Kuwait for a day on Thursday, separately met the Gulf nation’s foreign minister Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya, Al-Sabah and Health Minister Ahmad Abdelwahab Ahmad Al-Awadi. The Indian embassy in Kuwait said Foreign Minister Al-Yahya assured of full support including for medical care, early repatriation of mortal remains and investigation into the incident.

“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,” the mission said on X. “MoS conveyed his appreciation for the cooperation being extended by all concerned authorities of Kuwait,” it said. Singh also visited Mubarak Al Kabeer hospital and Jaber hospital where several injured Indians were admitted.

In the meeting with Singh, the Kuwaiti health minister briefed him on steps taken to ensure speedy recovery of Indians under his “personal supervision”, according to the Indian embassy. “In an unfortunate and tragic fire incident earlier today in a Labour housing facility in Mangaf area of Kuwait, around 40 Indians are understood to have died and over 50 injured,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement late on Wednesday night.

(With agency inputs)

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