Kuwaiti citizen, several foreigners arrested in fire incident

A Kuwaiti citizen and several foreigners were arrested on Thursday in connection with charges of manslaughter and causing injuries due to negligence in security and safety measures following a fire incident that killed 49 people, including 45 Indians, in the Gulf kingdom.

At least 49 overseas workers were killed and 50 others injured in the fire on Wednesday in a seven-storey building where 196 migrant workers were staying, in the southern Kuwaiti city of Mangaf.

"The Public Prosecution has mandated the provisional detention of a Kuwaiti citizen and several expats in connection with charges of manslaughter and causing injuries due to negligence in security and safety measures, following a fire incident in the Al-Mangaf area," the English-language daily Arab Times reported.

The public prosecution has started an investigation into the fire to uncover the circumstances behind the incident and what might have triggered the deadly fire. There has yet been no official word on how the blaze started or what caused it. Some local media reported that it could be a gas leak from the building’s ground floor.

In a statement, the prosecution said a special team had examined the fire scene and visited the hospitals where the casualties had been taken to question the injured.

Meanwhile, Kuwait Municipality announced that the engineering audit and follow-up department in the Farwaniya Governorate has closed seven basements and issued 13 violations. In an official statement, the municipality confirmed that efforts to close non-compliant basements are ongoing, the paper said.

Earlier, it was reported that authorities identified the bodies of 45 Indians and three Filipino nationals killed in the tragic fire as the Gulf kingdom vowed to promptly investigate the incident and assured full support in repatriating the mortal remains of the victims.

Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousuf Al-Sabah, serving as first deputy prime minister, minister of interior, and minister of defence, said authorities have identified 48 bodies, of which 45 are of Indians and three are of Filipino nationality, Arab Times reported. Efforts are still underway to determine the identity of one remaining body, the first deputy prime minister said.

Kuwaiti authorities are conducting DNA tests on the bodies of those killed in the devastating fire incident, and an Indian Air Force aircraft is on standby to bring back the remains of Indians killed in the incident, officials said in New Delhi on Thursday.

Minister of state for external affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, who reached Kuwait to oversee assistance to Indians injured in the fire and to ensure early repatriation of the remains, met Kuwait's foreign minister Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya, who assured full support and vowed to promptly investigate the tragedy.

Singh also met some of the Indians injured in the massive fire and assured them all support from the Indian government. Later, he called on Sheikh Fahad, who conveyed condolences on behalf of the emir of Kuwait and his instructions to ensure all necessary assistance and support.

Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah has issued directives for the distribution of financial assistance to the families of the deceased, Sheikh Fahad said, without mentioning the quantum of the compensation. Additionally, the emir has ordered the preparation of military aircraft to repatriate the bodies of deceased Indians to their homeland.