Kuwait fire tragedy: External Affairs Ministry did good job to help injured Indians, says Gopi

Kochi: Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi on Friday said that the External Affairs Ministry did a "wonderful" job in coordinating the efforts to ensure treatment of the Indians injured in the Kuwait fire tragedy which claimed atleast 49 lives.

The Minister of State for Tourism and Petroleum also said that he has cancelled his other programmes for the day and would be going to the international airport here to receive the bodies of the Malayalees who died in the Kuwait fire tragedy.

Meanwhile, Kerala Revenue Minister K Rajan told reporters here that the bodies of 23 Malayalees, 7 Tamilians and one person from Karnataka would be received here, before the flight carrying the mortal remains of the other Indians who died in the fire goes to Delhi.

Rajan said that arrangements have been made for public display of the mortal remains at the airport and thereafter, they would be sent to the families by ambulances that have been arranged by the Department of Non-Resident Keralites' Affairs (NORKA).

He said that if extra ambulances for transporting the bodies of the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka natives were required, the Health Department was ready to arrange it.

"We have also arranged a pilot vehicle for each of the ambulances," he said.

Rajan also said that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other state ministers would be arriving at the airport here.

Earlier, while speaking to reporters, Gopi said that the External Affairs Ministry was "pressed into service" to intervene diplomatically and ensure proper treatment of the injured Indians and repatriation of the mortal remains of those who died in the incident.

"They are doing it wonderfully," he added.

Officials had said that 49 people were killed in the fire in the Al-Mangaf building on June 12 and 42 of them were Indians; the remaining were Pakistani, Filipino, Egyptian and Nepali nationals.

The building in southern Kuwait's Mangaf area housed around 195 migrant workers.