Kuwait fire tragedy: Plane carrying mortal remains of 45 Indians lands in Kerala

Kochi, June 14 (IANS) A special Air Force aircraft carrying the mortal remains of 45 Indians, who died in a devastating fire in Kuwait on June 12, landed here on Friday and will later fly to Delhi.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi, Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan and several state cabinet ministers were present at the airport.

State Minister of Law P. Rajeeve said since the maximum number of deceased was from Kerala, the flight landed here first and then it will leave for Delhi, with the remaining bodies.

The victims include 23 from Kerala, seven from Tamil Nadu, three each from Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, two from Odisha, and one each from Bihar, Punjab, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Haryana.

The mortal remains of the victims from Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will be sent to their respective destinations.

The state government arranged for an inspection of the bodies that were received and an ambulance was also allotted to carry each of the bodies to their respective homes.

At the airport, the mortal remains were placed for a while for people to pay their last respects after which the bodies were handed over to the relatives of the deceased.

Union Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh, who had rushed to Kuwait was on the flight.

A massive fire erupted in a six-storey building in Kuwait’s Mangaf city on Wednesday, killing at least 49 people.

The embassy said that 176 Indian workers were in the housing facility, 45 of them died and 33 were hospitalised.