At least 49 people were killed after fire broke out in Kuwait on Wednesday in a residential building housing workers in Kuwait’s southern Mangaf district.
Dozens of residents of the building were injured in the blaze which broke out early in the morning.
“We’re still confirming the death toll, there are lots of casualties, unfortunately it’s more than 40. Some injured people have been taken to hospital and are in ICU,” said Kuwait Fire Force accident investigation department director, Colonel Sayed Hassan al-Mousawi.
The Interior Minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousuf Al-Sabah has ordered the arrest of the owner after reports suggested that the fire was linked to violations of building regulations.
At one hospital, more than 30 Indian citizens were admitted, the embassy wrote on social media, adding that at least 47 workers had received treatment in hospitals.
Several Indians, including from the southern state of Kerala, were reported to have died in the fire, according to a letter written by Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan to India’s foreign minister that was shared with the press.
A government agency for Keralites living outside the state said it had been told by the Indian community in Kuwait that 41 Indians, including 11 from Kerala, had died in the fire.
The authorities are currently combing the area for evidence.
Most of the deaths are believed to be as a result of smoke inhalation while residents were sleeping.
