June 12 (EFE).- At least 35 people died and another 15 sustained injuries of varying degrees in a building fire in southern Kuwait on Wednesday The fire broke out on Wednesday morning in Manqaf district More than 35 people died in the building while the 15 injured were taken to hospitals the director of the interior ministry’s forensic evidence department Al-Qwaihan said that the fire was under control and rescue operations by medical emergency teams and firefighters were still underway Three of the victims had been identified and efforts were being made to identify the rest Images broadcast by several local media show columns of smoke rising from a six-story building Fires are frequent in Kuwait in the summer months due to high temperatures that sometimes reach 50 degrees Celsius Kuwait has a population of about 4.2 million people two thirds of whom are immigrants and expatriates working in the small but wealthy Persian Gulf country Kuwait Business Town Real Estate signed a preliminary purchase agreement worth KWD 19 million for a plot of land that is designed to be used as an investment property the land spans a total area of 12,285 square metres according to a statement to the Kuwaiti bourse on Monday The purchase was facilitated through one of Kuwait Business Town’s subsidiaries will announce further details when the ownership transfer procedures are completed the transaction’s material impact on the consolidated financials will be determined upon completion of the sale process It is worthy to mention that over the first nine months of 2019 the company achieved 22.8% higher profits at KWD 1.88 million from KWD 1.53 million in the same period in 2018 All Rights Reserved - Mubasher Info © 2005 - 2020 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info) Get insights and exclusive content from the world of business and finance that you can trust January 28, 2025e-Paper Adevastating fire in a seven-storey building in Mangaf has claimed the lives of 49 foreign workers on June 12 while most of the 195 migrant workers were asleep leading to the suffocation of many victims according to officials from the Kuwait Interior Ministry and the fire department Kerala Health Minister Veena George will urgently travel to Kuwait to coordinate efforts to assist the families of those who were killed and injured in the massive fire After a special Cabinet meeting held this morning the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan-led government announced an ex gratia of ₹5 lakh for the families of the deceased and ₹1 lakh for those who were injured in the June 12 mishap in Kuwati’s city of Mangaf the field agency of the Department of Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NoRKA) has set up a help desk following the fire tragedy in Kuwait The non-resident Keralites can contact NoRKA Global Contact Center 24-hour toll-free numbers 1800 425 3939 (from India) +91-8802 012 345 (from abroad Information is also available at following numbers:  Anup Mangat +965 90039594; Bijoy +965 66893942; Richie K George +965 60615153; Anil Kumar +965 66015200; Thomas Shelvan +965 51714124; Ranjith +965 55575492; Naveen +965 99861103; Ansari +965 60311882; Jins Thomas +965 65589453; Sugathan - +965 55464554; J Lukose had bought a mobile phone for his elder daughter who had scored excellent marks in the plus two (class 12) board exams and was going to bring it next month when he planned to come home to arrange her admission in a nursing course in Bengaluru who worked in Kuwait for the last 18 years Kuwaiti authorities have identified the bodies of 45 Indians and three Filipino nationals killed in the tragic fire incident in a building housing foreign workers in the Gulf Kingdom At least 49 foreign workers were killed and 50 others injured in the fire on Wednesday at the seven-storey building where 196 migrant workers were staying in the southern city of Mangaf serving as the First Deputy Prime Minister 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 The efforts are still underway to determine the identity of one remaining body Kuwait fire: Three from Kollam in Kerala among those killed was able to identify the mortal remains of his son only from the tattoo on his hand Pradeep said he was called by the authorities to identify his son’s body kept in a hospital mortuary I saw that the face was completely swollen and the nose was covered with soot Then I told them that he has a tattoo on his hand Srihari had just returned to Kuwait from Kerala last week on June 5 Both father and son worked for the same company Pradeep has been working in Kuwait for the last eight years a friend of the family told reporters that barely a week after Srihari left for Kuwait Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann expressed grief over the deaths of several Indians in the Kuwait fire accident Mann described the loss of lives as tragic “The unfortunate incident has resulted in the loss of several precious lives,” he said Congress leader Manish Tewari condoled the demise of Indian nationals in the Kuwait fire incident and called it “extremely saddening.” He also affirmed the hope that the matter will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken in the case We have received information that the Indian government has sent a Minister there and we hope that this matter will be investigated and action will be taken as soon as possible I sympathise with the families of the 40 Indians,” Mr a resident of Thrikkaripur in northern Kerala found himself trapped on a third floor apartment in the building when disaster struck he made a split-second decision that saved his life - he jumped onto a nearby water tank Though the leap to safety left him with broken ribs and injuries Relatives who lived nearby quickly found him and rushed him to a hospital in Kuwait for urgent medical care “We received the shocking news around 11 a.m He had jumped onto the water tank but couldn’t move Our relatives found him there and immediately took him to the hospital,” Nalinakshan’s uncle Balakrishnan said Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya assured full support to the Indians affected in the Kuwait fire accident The Kuwaiti Minister gave this assurance as Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh who is in Kuwait to oversee relief efforts and meet the injured “MoS @KVSinghMPGonda called on FM of Kuwait H.E 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 Embassy of India in Kuwait posted on X Singh met some of the Indians injured in a massive fire and assured them all support from the Indian government “The bodies of two victims from Malappuram district were identified on June 12 night,” according to sources Both of them had been missing since the fire started and their relatives had a harrowing time identifying them Kerala Muslim Cultural Committee Kuwait unit president Syed Nasar Al Mashoor Thangal said efforts would be made to bring home their bodies by June 14 including two natives of Kasaragod and one from Kannur tragically lost their lives in the devastating fire incident had recently relocated to Kuwait nine months ago after working in Bangalore who hailed from Pilicode and resided in Trikaripur had spent 20 years working in Kuwait and was preparing to return home this year after concluding his career news of his death reached his family just as he was planning his return had been employed as an accountant with NTBC for the past decade a M.Tech graduate and a chemical engineer working in Kuwait was worried as he was not picking calls after the fire accident in a building in the Gulf nation Though official confirmation was pending from authorities friends informed his father that Sajan was likely to have been in the building at the time of the incident “The family had spoken to him the day before...However Friends there said he was in the building,” a relative told the media Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh reached Kuwait to oversee the assistance to those injured in a massive fire at an apartment housing foreign workers and for the early repatriation of the bodies of about 40 Indians killed in the tragic incident Smoke billows after a fire broke out in a building The number of people from Kerala who died in the Kuwait fire tragedy has risen to 24 while seven seriously injured persons from the southern State are being treated in various hospitals in the Gulf country according to a senior official of NORKA Roots The Department of Non-Resident Keralites’ Affairs (NORKA) was constituted by the State Government in 1996 to address the grievances of non-resident Keralites both in India and abroad and to establish a sustainable partnership with them who is holding additional charge of the NORKA Chief Executive Officer said according to the information provided by its help desk in Kuwait unofficially the number of casualties among Keralites is rising A Chavakkad native is among those who died in the fire accident in the labour camp in Kuwait Binoy Thomas from South Palayur reached Kuwait just five days before the accident Chairman of the Committee for the Welfare of Non-resident Keralites According to the family members they contacted him hours before the accident they couldn’t contact him after the accident Later NORKA sources confirmed that he was among those who died in the accident “Kuwaiti authorities are conducting DNA tests on the bodies of those killed in the devastating fire incident in southern Kuwait’s Mangaf area and an IAF aircraft is on standby to bring back the mortal remains of Indians killed in the incident,” officials said Officials had said that total number of people killed in the Al-Mangaf building is 49 and 42 of them are learnt to be Indians; the remaining ones are Pakistani BSP supremo Mayawati condoled the death of Indians in a fire incident in Kuwait and asked the Centre to extend all help to their families “The death of 41 Indians in Kuwait fire accident is very sad Deep condolences to the families of those who died and wishes for the speedy recovery of the injured Central Government should provide full help to their families,” the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said in a post on X It is learnt that five Tamils were among the dead in the Kuwait fire incident Tamil Nadu Minister for Minorities Welfare and Non-Resident Tamils Welfare quoting information shared so far by Tamil associations based abroad He said the Embassy (in Kuwait) has said that official information about the victims will be provided to the Tamil Nadu government he told reporters that the victims belong to Thanjavur Ramanathapuram and Peravurani regions of the State would coordinate with the Union Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Kuwait The Cabinet has also enlisted the Keralite diaspora and Malayalee Association in the Gulf to assist injured persons It has opened a helpdesk and a global contact centre The State cabinet on June 13 confirmed that the number of Keralites who died in the fire that ripped through a labour camp in Kuwait has climbed to 19 amidst fears that the death toll of workers from the State might rise further The government also announced an ex gratia payment of 5 lakh for the families of the deceased and 1 lakh for the next of kin of those who suffered burn and fall injuries in the disaster Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs told a news channel in New Delhi that the Indian Embassy was in touch with the Kuwait authorities to expedite the identification of the bodies of those killed in the Kuwait fire He said DNA matching of unidentifiable bodies might be a time-consuming process Mr Kurian said the Central government had tasked Indian Embassy officials in Kuwait with ensuring that people who sustained burn and fall injuries in the blaze received the best medical care Kerala Government on June 13 said 12 people from the State have so far been identified among those who lost their lives in the major fire that broke out in Kuwait’s Mangaf area The Cabinet decided that Health Minister Veena George and an IAS officer will immediately go to Kuwait The decision was taken in an emergency Cabinet meeting this morning The meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan The State government has also announced ₹5 lakh for the families of the deceased and ₹1 lakh for those injured Before leaving for Kuwait to oversee assistance of Indians injured in the devastating fire and to ensure the repatriation of the mortal remains of those killed the Union Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said that some of the bodies have been charred beyond recognition ”The rest of the situation will be clear the moment we reach there,” Mr “We had a meeting last evening with the Prime Minister that is the last update we have about this very sad tragedy.. The rest of the situation will be clear the moment we reach there...” On being asked about the plan of repatriation of the mortal remains of those who lost lives “The situation is that the victims are mostly burn victims and some of the bodies have been charred beyond recognition So a DNA test is under way to identify the victims the kin will be informed and our Air Force plane will bring the bodies back...” the MoS said.” - ANI Jaishankar spoke to his Kuwaiti counterpart Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya and urged him to ensure early repatriation of the mortal remains of those killed in a devastating fire in southern Kuwait’s Mangaf area “Spoke to Kuwaiti FM Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya on the fire tragedy in Kuwait Apprised of the efforts made by Kuwaiti authorities in that regard Was assured that the incident would be fully investigated and that responsibility will be fixed,” Mr “Urged the early repatriation of the mortal remains of those who lost their lives,” he said He emphasised that those injured were getting the requisite medical attention “We will review the situation after MoS @KVSinghMPGonda reaches Kuwait tomorrow,” he said Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh is urgently travelling to Kuwait following a direction from Prime Minister Narendra Modi primarily to oversee assistance to Indians injured in the fire and to ensure early repatriation of mortal remains of those killed Leaders and volunteers of different Malayali organisations in Kuwait particularly the Kerala Muslim Cultural Committee (KMCC) were at the forefront to offer solace and aid to the relatives and friends of the victims of a massive fire at Manqaf in Kuwait on June 12 were killed when a six-storey apartment building that functioned as a labour camp caught fire at 4 a.m As many as 21 bodies were shifted to the mortuary at Adan Hospital said KMCC Kuwait unit president Syed Nasar Al Mashoor Thangal Condoling the loss of lives in a building fire in Kuwait the Congress urged the Ministry of External Affairs to provide all possible assistance to the Indian victims and their families The party pointed out that the incident showed the “appalling” conditions in which Indian workers live in the Middle East and said the government must ensure complete safety of citizens including proper housing facilities for them In view of the major fire in Kuwait that has killed at least 40 people the Commissionerate of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non Resident Tamils on June 12 launched helpline numbers: +91 1800 309 3793 the Commissionerate was in touch with the Indian diplomatic mission and Tamil associations in Kuwait to ascertain whether anyone from Tamil Nadu was affected Ominous reports that several migrant workers from Kerala might be among those dead or injured in the fire that ripped through a labour camp in south Kuwait have left the State shocked and on tenterhooks The State government scrambled to get more information about the causalities It contacted the Central government and the Malayali diaspora in Kuwait and other Gulf countries for more details on causalities Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has cancelled the inaugural function of the Loka Kerala Sabha an annual meeting of representatives of the Non-Resident Keralite community spread across the globe in deference to the dead and injured in the fire at a migrant labour camp in Kuwait on June 12 Vijayan also cancelled entertainment programmes for delegates He said the meeting would continue as scheduled on June 14 and 15 Prime Minister announced ex-gratia relief of ₹2 lakh to the families of the deceased India nationals from Prime Minister Relief Fund Modi directed that Government of India should extend all possible assistance Minister of State for External Affairs to travel immediately to Kuwait to oversee the relief measures and facilitate expeditious repatriation of the mortal remains The Kerala State cabinet has convened to expedite the process to bring back the bodies of Keralities killed in the fire that ripped through a labour camp in Kuwait Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan chairs the meeting The cabinet will weigh means to rush relief for Keralites under treatment for burn and fall injuries in various hospitals in Kuwait Read the story here. India’s mission in Kuwait is ascertaining the full details from the concerned Kuwaiti authorities on the tragic fire incident “In an unfortunate and tragic fire incident earlier today in a Labour housing facility in the Mangaf area of Kuwait around 40 Indians are understood to have died and over 50 injured The Embassy is ascertaining the full details from the concerned Kuwaiti authorities and the company We offer our deepest condolences to the bereaved families,” the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said in a statement on Wednesday night have died in a deadly fire that devastated a building in Kuwait’s southern district of Al-Mangaf The fire that broke out in the apartment building located in Kuwait’s Al Ahmadi Governorate early on Wednesday also left more than a dozen injured Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar expressed shock over the incident and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed ‘serious concern’ about the condition of Indians in the Gulf region Read the story here. 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