At least 49 people died after a fire broke out in workers’ accommodation in Kuwait’s southern Ahmadi governorate on Wednesday, officials said.
A further 15 people were injured in the blaze in Mangaf district and an investigation was under way, said Maj Gen Eid Al Owaihan, director of the general department of criminal evidence.
The death toll rose throughout the day as rescue teams scoured the charred remnants of the six-storey building.
Officials suggested the building, which housed close to 200 people, was overcrowded, and victims suffocated to death after a fire broke out on a lower floor.
The vast majority of the victims were from India, according to statements from Indian authorities seen by Reuters.
An Egyptian survivor who worked as a driver in Kuwait told local media the fire had started on a lower floor and that those on higher levels could not escape as the building filled with thick smoke.
Kuwait’s Interior Minister, Sheikh Fahad Al Sabah, told reporters he would address the issue of overcrowded workers’ accommodation and the building’s owner would be questioned.
He said he would ask municipal authorities to deal with any building safety offences, starting on Thursday, after the owners were put on notice.
A senior police official told state TV that the building housed a large number of workers. Dozens of occupants were rescued, but many suffocated, he said.
Col Sayed Hassan al-Mousawi, head of the firefighters’ Accident Investigation Department, said there were dozens of casualties and the final death toll may be higher.
The police official said officers had warned against overcrowding migrant workers accommodation.
Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said on X that he was “deeply shocked by the news of the fire incident” and offered “deepest condolences to the families of those who tragically lost their lives”.
India’s Minister for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh will travel to Kuwait to co-ordinate assistance and repatriate the dead, India’s foreign ministry said.
Delhi’s ambassador to Kuwait, Dr Adarsh Swaika, visited Al Adan hospital where the embassy said more than injured 30 Indian workers had been admitted.
He also visited the scene of the blaze in Mangaf “to ascertain the situation”, the embassy said in a Facebook post, adding that it was in constant touch with Kuwaiti law enforcement, fire and health authorities.
Kuwait’s Minister of Public Works and Municipal Affairs, Noura Al Mashaan, has suspended officials in Ahmadi and referred them for investigation, according to Kuna news agency.
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement expressed its sincere condolences and sympathy with the government and people of Kuwait, and to the families of the victims, as well as its wishes for a speedy recovery for all the injured.
Deadly blazes are relatively rare in Kuwait.
In 2009, 57 people died when a woman, apparently seeking revenge, set fire to a tent at a wedding party when her husband married a second wife.
Nusra al-Enezi threw petrol on the tent in Oyoun, Jahra Governorate, and set it alight as guests, including children, celebrated inside. She was hanged in 2017 for the crime.
Agencies contributed to this report
United Arab Emirates Dirham Exchange Rate
