Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Relatives grieve as bodies of 45 Kuwait fire victims return to India

Fifty people died in the apartment fire and anguished relatives back in India were frantically chasing news to know about their loved ones

Relatives grieve as bodies of 45 Kuwait fire victims return to India

Grieving families kept a solemn vigil at Kochi airport on Friday as the bodies of dozens of migrant workers killed in a Kuwait building fire returned home.

Wednesday's dawn blaze quickly engulfed a housing block home to some of the many foreign labourers servicing the oil-rich gulf state's economy.


Fifty people died in the resulting inferno, 45 of them Indians, with dozens more hospitalised and anguished relatives back home frantically chasing news of whether their loved ones had perished.

"We held on to hope till the last minute that maybe he got out, maybe he's in the hospital," Anu Aby, the neighbour of 31-year-old victim Cibin Abraham, told AFP.

Aby said that Abraham had been due to return to his home in Kerala state in August for his child's first birthday.

Abraham had been on the phone to his wife just an hour before the fire began, he added.

Others sat in a waiting area at Kochi airport in India's south, wiping away tears as the Indian Air Force plane carrying the remains of their relatives touched down.

Most of oil-rich Kuwait's population of more than four million is made up of foreigners.

Many of them are from South and Southeast Asia working in construction and service industries, and living in overcrowded housing blocks like the one that went up in flames on Wednesday.

Nearly 200 people were living in the building and many of the dead and injured suffocated from smoke inhalation after being trapped by the flames, according to a fire department source.

The bodies of many of the dead were charred beyond recognition and needed to be formally identified through DNA testing before they were repatriated.

One Kuwaiti and two foreign residents have been detained on suspicion of manslaughter through negligence of security procedures and fire regulations, authorities in the Gulf state said Thursday.

On Wednesday, Interior Minister Sheikh Fahd Al-Yousef vowed to address "labour overcrowding and neglect", and threatened to close any buildings that flout safety rules.

Three Filipinos were also among the dead, with the country's migrant workers secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac saying authorities in Manila were in touch with next of kin.

The blaze was one of the worst seen in Kuwait, which borders Iraq and Saudi Arabia and sits on about seven percent of the world's known oil reserves.

In 2009, 57 people died when a Kuwaiti woman, apparently seeking revenge, set fire to a tent at a wedding party when her husband married a second wife. (AFP)

More For You

Modi meets Vance, family in Paris

Narendra Modi in a group picture with US vice president JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance and their children Ewan and Vivek, at Elysee Palace in Paris. (ANI Photo)

Modi meets Vance, family in Paris

US vice president JD Vance and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi spoke on Tuesday (11) about how the US can assist India in diversifying its energy sourcing through investments in US nuclear technology, the White House said.

The meeting between Vance and Modi in Paris, where they were both attending an artificial intelligence summit, came ahead of the prime minister's US visit later this week in which topics like trade, investment, technology and immigration are expected to be discussed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Heathrow to submit third runway proposal by summer

A British Airways passenger plane takes off behind houses next to land earmarked for a third runway at Longford near Heathrow Airport. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Heathrow to submit third runway proposal by summer

LONDON's Heathrow Airport, one of the world's busiest hubs, will submit its proposal for a third runway to the British government by summer, its chief executive Thomas Woldbye will say in a speech on Wednesday (12).

The move comes after chancellor Rachel Reeves said last month the government would back the construction of a new runway at Heathrow to boost trade and economic growth.

Keep ReadingShow less
trump-musk-

Musk, standing alongside Trump in the Oval Office with his 4-year-old son, said he was leading the effort to cut government waste. (Photo: Getty Images)

Trump, Musk move to cut federal workforce under new order

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has directed federal agencies to work with Elon Musk to identify government jobs that can be cut and functions that can be eliminated.

The move is part of an effort to reduce the federal workforce and align it with Trump’s policy priorities.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ed-Miliband-India

Miliband said his meetings with Indian officials reinforced the commitment to work together in key areas, including grid modernisation, offshore wind, and industrial decarbonisation.

Exclusive: UK-India energy partnership strengthens as Miliband backs clean transition

BRITAIN sees India as a “crucial partner” as both countries aim to deepen their cooperation on clean energy, with a focus on renewables and climate action, UK secretary of state for energy security and net zero, Ed Miliband, said.

On a visit to India this week, Miliband highlighted India’s ambitious renewable energy targets and its commitment to achieving net zero by 2070.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bangladesh's former government accused of 'crimes against humanity'

Sheikh Hasina (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Bangladesh's former government accused of 'crimes against humanity'

BANGLADESH's former government was behind systematic attacks and killings of protesters as it strived to hold onto power last year, the UN said Wednesday (12), warning the abuses could amount to "crimes against humanity".

Before premier Sheikh Hasina was toppled in a student-led revolution last August, her government oversaw a systematic crackdown on protesters and others, including "hundreds of extrajudicial killings", the UN said.

Keep ReadingShow less