Kerala govt to provide Rs 5L assistance to kin of those from state who died in Kuwait fire

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 13 (PTI) The Kerala government on Thursday said it will provide Rs 5 lakh financial assistance to the families of the people from the state who died in the Kuwait fire tragedy that claimed 49 lives and left 50 others injured.

The decision was taken at an emergency Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the morning, a statement issued by his office said.

The cabinet also decided to provide Rs one lakh financial assistance to those injured in the incident, it said.

A decision was taken to immediately send state Health Minister Veena George to Kuwait to coordinate the efforts to provide treatment for the injured people as well as ensure the earliest repatriation of the mortal remains of the deceased to Kerala, it further said.

The minister will be accompanied by Jeevan Babu, State Mission Director (NHM), it added.

The statement also said prominent businessmen M A Yusuff Ali and Ravi Pillai have informed the CM that they will provide Rs 5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh, respectively, to each of the families of the Keralites who died in the fire.

The assistance will be provided through Department of Non-Resident Keralites’ Affairs (NORKA) and with help from the two businessmen, families of each of those from the state who died in the incident will get Rs 12 lakh, the statement said.

The cabinet also condoled the deaths in the Kuwait fire tragedy, it said.

It further said efforts were being made through NORKA and expatriates to provide all possible assistance to the victims.

A help desk and a global contact centre are open round-the-clock, it added.

The statement also said the state government will give full support to the interventions being made in Kuwait by the Central government.

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

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 most of the victims suffocating to death, according to officials from the Kuwait Interior Ministry and the Fire Department.