An IAF plane is on standby to bring back the mortal remains of Indians killed in a devastating fire in southern Kuwait’s Mangaf area on Wednesday. Forty of the 49 killed were Indians including 24 from Kerala. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia payment of `two lakh each to the families of the deceased. The Kerala Government also announced payment of `five lakh each. Most of the Indian victims are from Kerala.
Minister of state for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh left for Kuwait following a direction from Modi to oversee assistance to Indians injured in the fire and to ensure early repatriation of mortal remains of those killed, officials said here on Thursday.
They also said Kuwaiti authorities are conducting DNA tests on the bodies of those killed adding 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, Filipino, Egyptian and Nepali nationals.
"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(MEA)had said in a statement late on Wednesday night. Prime Minister Modi, who described the incident as "saddening", 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.
