Caught by surprise in their sleep, migrant workers sleeping in a housing building in Mangaf, Kuwait, faced a harrowing ordeal as a blaze erupted on Wednesday morning, claiming the lives of at least 49 foreign workers, including 42 Indians.
The building primarily housing close to 196 single men without families, became a scene of horror at 4 am on June 12 as the fire rapidly spread throughout the premises. Amid the chaos, some workers made desperate attempts to flee the inferno by jumping from the first floor, while others succumbed to suffocation as they tried to navigate through the smoke-filled corridors.
READ MORE: Kuwait Fire: What We Know So Far About The Mangaf Housing Tragedy That Killed At Least 42 Indians?
‘Victims suffocated’
Local authorities swiftly responded to the emergency, mobilising firefighting teams to contain the blaze. Despite their prompt efforts, the intensity of the fire proved overwhelming, leaving many residents trapped within the burning building. Local media reports said that charred bodies were discovered on the stairs. With no official word on the cause of the fire, a report in The Kuwait Times said the blaze was due to a gas leak.
A senior Kuwait journalist told CNN-News18 that the intense heatwave, with temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius, is believed to have contributed to the tragedy, prompting regular government warnings. Sayed Al-Mousawi, the head of investigations at the Kuwait Fire Department said that the team investigating the causes of the fire found that an inflammable material was used as partitions between apartments and also between rooms, which caused the huge black clouds of smoke.
According to the fire department, many of the “victims suffocated while trying to run down the stairs” because they were filled with smoke. Sayed Al-Mousawi added that the victims could not go to the rooftop because the door was locked. In the wake of this devastating blaze, questions have been raised about the safety standards of migrant worker accommodations in Kuwait. Visiting the site, Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Fahad Yusuf Saud Al-Sabah said “the greed of real estate owners is what leads to these matters”. It was not immediately clear if any violations had taken place at the building or what they were.
DNA testing
Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, who is on his way to Kuwait to help repatriate the bodies of deceased Indians, said that the majority of victims suffered severe burns, with some bodies charred beyond recognition. He said DNA testing procedures are currently underway to facilitate victim identification, adding that an Air Force aircraft is on standby for immediate deployment.
The minister said once victim identities are confirmed, families will be promptly notified, and the Air Force will facilitate repatriation. “As soon as the bodies are identified, the kin will be informed and our airforce plane will bring the bodies back… 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,” MoS Singh told ANI.
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