Special aircraft carrying bodies of 45 Indians killed in Kuwait fire en route to Kochi

A special aircraft carrying the mortal remains of the 45 Indian nationals killed in a fire incident in Kuwait is on its way to Kochi in Kerala.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, who coordinated the repatriation of the bodies with Kuwaiti authorities, is on board the aircraft, the Indian embassy in Kuwait said in a post on X on Friday (June 14). The post was reposted by Singh.

“A special IAF aircraft carrying mortal remains of 45 Indian victims in the fire incident in Kuwait has taken off for Kochi. MoS @KVSinghMPGonda, who coordinated with Kuwaiti authorities ensuring swift repatriation, is onboard the aircraft,” the embassy’s post said.

Meanwhile, teams of police and ambulances are ready at Kochi airport to receive the bodies and hand them over to their family members.

Kerala CM to pay last respects

Ernakulam Collector NSK Umesh said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other ministers will pay their last respects to the deceased and separate ambulances have been deployed to take the bodies to their respective homes.

“The last respects will be paid by Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Ministers of the state, local people representatives...Exclusive ambulances have been arranged for each of the bodies...We will ensure smooth transport of the bodies to their homes..." ANI quoted him as saying.

“We have made all the required arrangements for receiving the bodies...We have coordinated with the family members of the victims...Once the bodies are received, they will be properly escorted to their respective places. Twenty bodies belong to Kerala, seven belong to Tamil Nadu and one belongs to Karnataka. A dedicated vehicle will be provided for each body,” Ernakulam Range DIG Putta Vimaladitya told ANI.

3 each hailed from UP, Andhra

On Thursday, the Andhra Pradesh government said that three of the workers killed in the fire were from the state while Uttar Pradesh also pegged the same number of casualties from the state.

Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRTS), which is the nodal agency for NRI and migrant matters said T Lokanandam from Srikakulam district, M Satyanarayana and M Eshwarudu from West Godavari district were identified among the deceased.

These three were identified as per the information shared by the New Delhi-based Andhra Pradesh Bhavan (AP Bhavan) with APNRTS.

"APNRTS has contacted the families, ascertained further information and collected details of the persons who will receive the mortal remains of individual migrants from the airport on behalf of the family," said the society in a press release.

It is coordinating with AP Bhavan on transporting the mortal remains of the Kuwait fire tragedy victims.

According to APNRTS, the mortal remains are expected to arrive in New Delhi by Friday afternoon and will be dispatched onward to Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada airports for further transit to the hometowns of the victims.

According to information received from the Uttar Pradesh’s Relief Commissioner's Office on Thursday night, those who died in the incident in Kuwait include Praveen Madhav Singh of Varanasi, Jairam Gupta and Angad Gupta of Gorakhpur.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson of the state government said that after this information came to light, on the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the top officials of the state are in constant touch with the officials of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Kuwait.

A total of 49 people, including over 40 Indians, died in a fire in a multi-storey building in Kuwait on Wednesday morning. Following this, the government sent Singh to Kuwait. Most of the deceased are residents of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

(With inputs from agencies)