Kuwait Fire Tragedy: A special Air Force aircraft carrying the bodies of 45 Indians who died in a massive fire in Kuwait reached the Cochin International Airport in Kerala's Ernakulam. Gonda MP Kirti Vardhan Singh, who reached Kuwait soon after taking charge as Mos in the foreign ministry, also returned in the same aircraft.
Indian Air Force C-130J Super Hecules transport aircraft departed for Kuwait on Thursday to repatriate the bodies of Indian-origin individuals who were killed in a recent fire incident.
On Wednesday, a massive fire broke out at a labour housing facility in southern Kuwait's Mangaf city, claiming the lives of around 40 Indians and injuring over 50. The incident occurred at around 6:00 am (0300 GMT), news agency Reuters reported citing Major Genral Eid Rashed Hamas.
Earlier in the day, Kerala Revenue Minister K. Rajan arrived at the Cochin International Airport where the special IAF aircraft arrived.
Kerala Govt Has Made All Arrangements: Kerala Law Minister
Ernakulam: Kerala Law Minister P Rajeev said, "The government of Kerala has made all arrangements to receive the bodies (of those killed in the Kuwait fire tragedy). The Chief Minister will be coming soon and all other ministers are here... Out of 45 deceased, the bodies of the residents of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka will be brought here. We have arranged a special ambulance for each deceased and a police pilot has been provided up to the house of the deceased... We are coordinating with the government of Tamil Nadu as well."
As per the latest information, the flight will land in Kochi around 10:20 am... The External Affairs aspect will be dealt with by the Union Government. Since most of the deceased are from Kerala, we will try to offer assistance and relief to the families of the deceased and also to the injured..."
Centre & MEA Took Up Matter Very Seriously: Kerala BJP President
Speaking on the Kuwait fire incident, Kerala BJP President K Surendran said, "It is a very unfortunate incident but the Central government and the MEA have taken up the issue very seriously and the procedures were carried out quickly in Kuwait and the bodies are coming today... All procedures were completed by yesterday evening itself... We will visit the houses of all deceased and offer our condolences to the families..."