Kuwait fire tragedy: Families of suspected deceased Keralites await official confirmation

Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the families of suspected deceased persons from Kerala mourn the loss of their loved ones in the Kuwait fire incident that claimed several lives, many of them are yet to receive any official confirmation from the authorities.

Television channels showed pictures of 14 persons from Kerala from across the state who lost their lives in the fire.

However, many of the families told the media that they were yet to receive any official confirmation regarding the deaths.

"His phone is still ringing. We don't know what to do," a parent was seen telling a television channel.

According to various media reports, people from Pathanamthitta, Kollam, Kottayam, Malappuram, Kannur and Kasaragod districts lost their lives in the fire.

The family of a man from Punalur in Kollam district said their friends have confirmed that he was missing.

"We are yet to receive any official confirmation, but our friends there have confirmed the incident," a relative said.

Television channels showed the houses of the suspected deceased Keralites with locals and relatives consoling the kin.

According to the Kuwaiti authorities, the incident happened in a building in the southern city of Mangaf, which killed 49 foreign workers, including around 40 Indians, and injured 50 others.

The fire started in the kitchen of the seven-storey building housing 195 migrant workers in Mangaf in the Ahmadi Governorate early on Wednesday.

The fire erupted just after 4 am when the majority of the 196 all-male residents of the building were asleep.

It resulted in huge, thick clouds of black smoke that led to the suffocation of most of the victims, according to officials from the Interior Ministry and the fire department.