Mortal remains of 45 Indian workers who died in a blaze in a labour housing facility in Kuwait were brought back to India on Friday morning.
The fire, which broke out on Wednesday in Kuwait’s Mangaf city, killed a total of 50 persons and left dozens of workers injured. The Kuwait government has ordered a probe into the fire incident.
Among the deceased, 23 are from Kerala, seven from Tamil Nadu, three each from Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, two from Odisha and one each from Punjab, Mahararashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Haryana and Karnataka.
The Indian Air Force’s C-130J transport aircraft landed in Kerala’s Kochi city where the bodies of workers from southern states were given to authorities, before continuing to Delhi.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other ministers paid homage to the deceased at the Nedumbassery Cargo Airport. Speaking to media, CM Vijayan described expatriates as the lifeline of Kerala and termed the deaths of so many Indian expatriates as a “huge disaster for the country”.
The Central and state governments have announced compensation for the families of those died in the tragedy.