Shillong, June 12 (Agencies): Over 45 people have died, mostly Indian nationals, in a fire that broke out at a workers’ accommodation in Mangaf in Kuwait’s southern Ahmadi governorate on Wednesday, local media reports said.
According to the Kuwait Local website, “the majority of the deceased are Indian nationals”. It said that several individuals were injured, some critically, and have been taken to nearby hospitals for necessary medical treatment.
The fire occurred at around 4 am on Wednesday morning and is suspected to have originated from a gas cylinder stored in the watchman’s room. Nearly 160 employees of the same company were residing in the camp at the time of the fire.
Indian Ambassador to Kuwait, Adarsh Swaika, also visited the site and assured full assistance with official formalities and support for those hospitalised.
Sheikh Fahad has instructed the Kuwait Municipality and the Public Authority for Manpower to immediately prevent overcrowding in residential buildings and ensure all safety requirements are in place to prevent future incidents.
According to Kuwait Times, images from the scene showed soot blackening the exterior of the six-storey building which housed the workers.
Oil-rich Kuwait has large numbers of foreign workers, many of them from South and Southeast Asia, and mostly working in construction or service industries.
According to a source in the General Fire Department, the victims suffocated from rising smoke after the fire broke out on the ground floor.
