Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh on Thursday arrived in Kuwait and immediately rushed to Jaber Hospital to ascertain well well-being of Indians who had been injured in the fire incident in Mangaf area on Wednesday.
He met six injured Indians undergoing treatment at the hospital.
In a post on X, the Indian Embassy in Kuwait stated, “On the directions of PM @narendramodiji, MoS @KVSinghMPGonda arrived in Kuwait and immediately rushed to Jaber hospital to ascertain well being of injured Indians in the fire incident yesterday. He met the 6 injured admitted at the hospital. All of them are safe.”
Around 40 Indians are understood to have died, and over 50 are injured in a tragic fire incident at a labour housing facility in the Mangaf area of Kuwait on Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs said, adding the injured are being treated in five government hospitals in Kuwait.
The people who have sustained injuries are admitted and treated in five government hospitals in Kuwait: Adan, Jaber, Farwaniya, Mubarak Al Kabeer and Jahra hospitals.
Citing the hospital authorities, the MEA reported that most of the admitted patients are stable.”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 MEA said in a release on Wednesday night.
Following the incident, the Ambassador of India in Kuwait, Adarsh Swaika, immediately visited the location of the incident and also the hospitals to ascertain the welfare of the Indian nationals.
“The Embassy continues to coordinate with local authorities to assist Indian nationals who have been injured in this unfortunate incident and extend all possible support,” the MEA release said, noting that the Embassy is receiving full cooperation from the Kuwaiti authorities.
“On the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Minister of State Kirti Vardhan Singh is immediately travelling to Kuwait to work towards early repatriation of mortal remains as well as for medical assistance to those injured,” the release added.
Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Kuwait continues to remain in touch with local authorities to provide relief to those affected by the incident.
The Indian Embassy in Kuwait has established a helpline for family members to get in touch and updates are being provided through the helpline.
Before leaving for Kuwait to oversee the assistance of Indians injured in the devastating fire and to ensure the repatriation of the mortal remains of those killed, 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,” Vardhan said.
Speaking to ANI at the Delhi Airport before flying for Kuwait, the MoS said, “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, he said, “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 underway to identify the victims.”
“An Air Force plane is on standby. As soon as the bodies are identified, the kin will be informed and our Air Force plane will bring the bodies back…” the MoS said.
“The latest figures that we had last night, the casualty figures are around 48-49 out of this 42 or 43 are believed to be Indians,” he added.
External Affairs Minister spoke to his Kuwaiti counterpart Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya on Wednesday night. Jaishankar urged the early repatriation of the mortal remains of those who lost their lives in the incident. EAM said that he was assured that the incident would be fully investigated.
In a post on X, Jaishankar stated, “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.”
“Urged the early repatriation of the mortal remains of those who lost their lives. He emphasized that those injured were getting the requisite medical attention. We will review the situation after MoS @KVSinghMPGonda reaches Kuwait tomorrow,” he added.
Soon after the news of the fire incident in Kuwait broke out, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a review meeting and announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister Relief Fund to the families of deceased Indian nationals.
PM Modi expressed his deep sorrow at the unfortunate incident and extended condolences to the families of the deceased. He further wished for the speedy recovery of those injured and assured all possible assistance from the Indian government.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office official statement, “The meeting was chaired at his residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg, New Delhi.”
“Prime Minister announced ex-gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh to the families of deceased India nationals from the Prime Minister Relief Fund,” the statement added.