At least 49 people have died in a fire that erupted in a building housing foreign workers in Kuwait City, state media reported on Wednesday, citing officials.
A video shared on social media showed the moment the fire engulfed the six-story building in the Mafreg area of the city.
Police official, Sayyed Hasan Ebrahim, informed Kuwaiti state television that about 150 people were living in the building when the fire started on the ground floor.
Ebrahim explained that the fire, now contained, spread rapidly due to the presence of more than 20 cooking gas tanks and flammable materials in the overcrowded block.
General Eid Rashed from the police criminal forensic department told state television that most of the deaths resulted from suffocation.
He also mentioned that 11 people were receiving treatment in hospitals and that police were working to identify the victims.
The Indian foreign ministry confirmed that Indian nationals were among the deceased.
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, referred to the fire as a “mishap” and expressed his sadness over the incident.
Modi said, “My thoughts are with all those who have lost their near and dear ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest.”
India’s Ambassador to Kuwait, Adarsh Swaika, visited both the injured victims in the hospital and the fire site.
Images of the aftermath reveal a charred ground floor, with Kuwaiti security forces inspecting the damage. Reports indicated that the building’s owner has been arrested and is under investigation for negligence.
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