7 Tamils dead in Kuwait fire incident, TN CM announces relief

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday said seven Tamils were among the dead in the Kuwait fire incident, and arrangements have been made to fly their mortal remains to Chennai.

The bodies will be handed over to their relatives, he said.

Expressing shock and anguish over the death of seven people in a building blaze in Kuwait City, the Chief Minister conveyed his heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the deceased and ordered a solatium of Rs 5 lakh to each affected family.

The government will provide all necessary assistance to those undergoing treatment for burn injuries, Stalin said in a statement here.

“The state government is making arrangements to bring the mortal remains of the employees from Tamil Nadu by a separate plane and hand them over to their families as soon as possible,” he said.

The deceased have been identified as Veerasamy Mariappan of Thoothukudi, E Raju of Tiruchirappalli, Krishnamurthy Chinnadurai of Cuddalore, Sivasankaran Govindan of Royapuram, Chennai, P Richard of Thanjavur, Karuppannan Ramu of Ramanathapuram, and Mohamed Sharif of Villupuram.

Earlier, Minorities Welfare and Non-Resident Tamils Welfare Minister Gingee K S Masthan told reporters here that as per the Chief Minister’s directive, all steps were being taken to bring home the bodies and ensure necessary medical care for the injured.

“The Embassy (in Kuwait) has said that official information (on victims) will be provided to the state government. We are continuously monitoring,” he said.

The tragic fire incident in a building in Kuwait’s Mangaf city early on Wednesday killed 49 foreign workers, including around 40 Indians, and injured 50 others.