India Brings Home 45 Bodies Of Workers Who Died In Kuwait, Fire Implementation Suspect Arrested

UNSPLASH/Bro Takes Photos ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The bodies of 45 Indians who died in a fire in a labor housing building in Kuwait were flown to India.

An electrical short was most likely the cause of the fire on Wednesday, June 12 at a housing facility in Mangaf, a coastal city in the southern capital of Kuwait.

Indian workers were among the 49 people who died. A total of 33 others were hospitalized.

Television broadcast the bereaved families waiting at the airport to receive the bodies of their loved ones. Upon arrival there, a coffin with a photo of the deceased was placed on a separate table at the airport cargo complex.

Family, friends, ministers, and officials paid their respects while the police gave them a sign of honor.

A total of 23 of the 45 people came from the southern Indian state of Kerala and its chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, calling the accident a "national tragedy".

"This is the biggest tragedy involving migrants. We consider migrants as our savior. This is a huge loss to the country," he told reporters.

Millions of foreign workers are the majority of the workforce in Kuwait and several neighboring countries in Teluk, and often live in overcrowded accommodation.

On Thursday, June 13, a Kuwaiti prosecutor ordered a number of suspects to be detained on charges of murder for safety negligence in the building.

India's foreign ministry said 176 workers lived there.

The other death toll included three workers from the Philippines, the Philippine Migrant Workers Ministry said, adding two more people were in hospital and were in critical condition.