Fire tragedy in Kuwait: A special Air Force plane carrying the bodies of 45 Indians who died in a major fire in Kuwait arrived at Kochi International Airport in Ernakulam, Kerala. Gonda MP Kirti Vardhan Singh, who arrived in Kuwait soon after assuming office as MOS in the Ministry of External Affairs, also returned in the same plane.

An Indian Air Force C-130J Super Helicopter transport aircraft took off for Kuwait on Thursday to transport the bodies of Indian-origin people who died in a recent fire.

A massive fire broke out in a workers' dormitory in the southern Kuwaiti city of Mangaf on Wednesday, killing around 40 Indians and injuring more than 50. The incident occurred at around 6:00 a.m. (03:00 GMT), Reuters news agency reported, citing Hamas Major General Eid Rashed.

Earlier in the day, Kerala Finance Minister K. Rajan arrived at Cochin International Airport, where the special IAF aircraft had landed.

The Government of Kerala has made all arrangements: Law Minister of Kerala

Ernakulam: Kerala Law Minister P. Rajeev said, “The Kerala government has made all arrangements to receive the bodies (of those killed in the Kuwait fire tragedy). The Chief Minister will come soon and all other ministers are here… Of the 45 dead, the bodies of the residents of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka will be brought here. We have arranged a special ambulance for each dead person and a police pilot has been sent to the house of the dead person… We are also coordinating with the Tamil Nadu government.”

According to the latest information, the flight will land in Kochi at around 10:20 am… The foreign policy aspect will be handled by the Union government. Since most of the dead are from Kerala, we will try to offer help and support to the families of the dead and also to the injured…”

Centre and MEA took the matter very seriously: Kerala BJP president

Commenting on the Kuwait fire incident, Kerala BJP president K Surendran said, “It is a very unfortunate incident but the central government and the Ministry of External Affairs have taken the matter very seriously. In Kuwait, the formalities have been completed expeditiously and the bodies will be delivered today. All the formalities were completed yesterday evening. We will visit the houses of all the deceased and offer our condolences to the families.”