PM Modi chairs review meet on Kuwait fire tragedy, announces ex-gratia relief for deceased India nationals

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a review meeting on Wednesday (June 12) at his residence in New Delhi to address the tragic fire incident in Kuwait that claimed the lives of several Indian nationals and left many injured.PM Modi announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh ($2395) from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund for the families of the nationals who lost their lives in the unexpected tragedy.

The death toll in the incident has now climbed to 49 from an earlier reported count of 41, in the wake of the examination of the building by forensic teams.

Expressing profound sorrow over the incident, Prime Minister Modi extended his condolences to the families of the deceased and wished for the speedy recovery of the injured.

"Prime Minister directed that Government of India should extend all possible assistance," the press release said.

He also directed Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh to "immediately travel to Kuwait to oversee the relief measures and facilitate expeditious repatriation of the mortal remains."

Earlier in a post, MoS MEA said, "...We stand with the victims of the Kuwait fire incident, we express our sympathy to them. We had a meeting with PM Modi and tomorrow morning we are travelling to Kuwait. We will take stock of the situation and those who are admitted to the hospital. The identification process of those who have died is underway...The maximum people are from Kerala and other parts of South India..."

The review meeting was attended by several key officials, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, MoS for External Affairs Kirtivardhan Singh, Principal Secretary to PM Modi Pramod Kumar Mishra, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra among others.

Probe into Kuwait fire

Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has ordered a thorough investigation into the fire at the apartment building in Mangaf. The building housed foreign workers, mostly Indians. Many of those killed, nearly 41, were from the Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu and northern states of India.

The fire, which began in a kitchen, devastated a six-storey building reportedly housing nearly 200 workers. The building, owned by the NBTC group and managed by Malayali businessman KG Abraham, also housed employees of NBTC's supermarket.

More than 30 Indian workers were injured. Indian Ambassador to Kuwait Adarsh Swaika visited the Al-Adan hospital to meet with the injured.

The Indian Embassy in Kuwait has established an emergency helpline and urged all concerned to connect over this helpline for updates.

External Affairs Minister SJ aishankar also expressed shock over the news of the fire incident.

(With inputs from agencies)