Kuwait fire: IAF flight carrying remains of Indians lands at Cochin International airport

The special Indian Air Force (IAF) flight carrying mortal remains of Indians who died in Kuwait fire incident has landed at Cochin International airport. The special flight took off from Kuwait today morning. The IAF sent a C-130J transport aircraft to Kuwait on June13 night to bring back the bodies.

"A special IAF aircraft carrying mortal remains of 45 Indian victims in the fire incident in Kuwait has taken off for Kochi," the Indian embassy in Kuwait said on X.

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, who coordinated with Kuwaiti authorities for swift repatriation of the bodies, is onboard the aircraft.

Around 35 ambulances and nearly an equal number of police vehicles lined up outside the import cargo terminal of the Kochi International Airport at Nedumbassery, as near and dear ones waited to receive the mortal remains of those killed in the recent fire at a building in Kuwait.

From Kochi, the aircraft will leave for Delhi as some of the Indians killed in the fire hailed from a few north and eastern Indian states. The mortal remains would be handed over to the respective state government representatives in Kochi and Delhi.

Forty-five Indians were among the 49 people killed in a devastating fire that broke out in a building housing migrant workers in Kuwait’s Mangaf area. An Indian Air Force plane is bringing back the bodies to India for their last rites. 

Among the deceased Indians, 23 were from Kerala, seven from Tamil Nadu, two each from Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, and one each from Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh. 

Construction firm NBTC group rented the building for the stay of more than 195 workers, most of them Indians from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and northern states, the Kuwaiti media said.

Interior Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousuf Al-Sabah ordered an investigation into the fire incident and issued directions to apprehend the owner and janitor of Al-Mangaf building.

Of the 176 Indian workers living in the building 33 are admitted in various hospitals, 45 died and the rest are safe, the Indian Embassy in Kuwait said in a press release.

The Kuwaiti Fire Force said the deadly fire was caused by an "electrical circuit". In a press statement, it said the conclusion was arrived at after examination of the scene of the incident, Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported.

The fire in Al-Mangaf building was reported to authorities in Al-Ahmadi governorate at 4.30 am on Wednesday and most of the deaths were due to smoke inhalation, Kuwaiti media reported. 

The incident was the worst building fire in Kuwait’s history, and it triggered calls for action against landlords and company owners who “violate the law to house large numbers of foreign laborers in extremely unsafe conditions to cut costs”, the Kuwait Times newspaper reported.

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