New Delhi/Kuwait City, June 13 : At least 42 Indians are among the 49 people killed in a fire that engulfed a six-storeyed building housing Indian workers in Mangaf in Kuwait’s Ahmadi governorate. Minister of State for External Affairs KV Singh on Thursday visited one of the hospitals where the injured Indians have been admitted.

Of the 42 Indians who have died, 14 were from Kerala, and the rest belonged to other states such as Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Besides Indians, the remaining persons who died were Pakistani, Filipino, Egyptian and Nepali nationals.

Of the more than 50 people injured, 35 are under intensive care, with seven reported to be in critical condition. Five are on ventilator support.

The injured are being treated in five government hospitals in Kuwait: Adan, Jaber, Farwaniya, Mubarak Al Kabeer, and Jahra hospitals.

MoS KV Singh, after arriving in Kuwait City, immediately rushed to Jaber hospital to meet injured Indians admitted there.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on X:

“On the directions of PM @narendramodi ji, MoS @KVSinghMPGonda arrived in Kuwait and immediately rushed to Jaber hospital to ascertain well being of injured Indians in the fire incident yesterday. He met the 6 injured admitted at the hospital. All of them are safe.”

Kuwaiti authorities have said that DNA testing will be conducted to identify some of the victims.

The fire incident happened in a six-storeyed building, where around 196 workers of a private company were housed. The initial investigation attributed the high number of casualties to the storing of around 20 cooking gas cylinders on the ground floor, where the fire reportedly started.

Reports also indicated that the majority of the workers, who were asleep after completing their night shift, were on the fifth and six floors. Most died due to inhaling the heavy toxic fumes.

The Public Prosecution has initiated an investigation into the tragic incident. State prosecution officials inspected the scene of the fire and spoke with the injured victims in hospitals.

The Indian Ambassador Adarsh Swaika also visited the accident site and all the hospitals where the injured are treated. He assured all possible assistance from the Embassy.

The owner of the building where the blaze took place is in custody and will remain so until the probe is completed, reports said.

Dr. Ahmed Al-Awadhi, the Health Minister, said that hospitals affiliated with the ministry received 56 patients injured in the fire.

Of these, 41 individuals required admission to internal medicine, surgery, or orthopaedics departments. These patients presented with conditions ranging from smoke inhalation (including carbon monoxide poisoning) and burns to fractures sustained in falls.

Nine of the admitted patients required intensive care treatment, while 11 individuals have already been discharged following treatment and stabilization of their health.

Medical teams deployed at the fire scene treated 11 individuals. Four of these patients succumbed to their injuries while being transported for further care.

Kuwait’s First Deputy Prime Minister, Defense Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Fahad Yusuf Al-Sabah on Thursday headed an overall inspection campaign on illegal properties in many areas in Kuwait.

UNI