The IAF military transport aircraft carrying the mortal remains of the 45 Indians who died in the Kuwait building fire will land in Kochi on Friday morning. Minister of State for External Affairs of India, Kirti Vardhan Singh is onboard the flight.
The Indian Embassy in Kuwait took to X to announce the details. "A special IAF aircraft carrying mortal remains of 45 Indian victims in the fire incident in Kuwait has taken off for Kochi," the Indian embassy wrote on X. "MoS @KVSinghMPGonda, who coordinated with Kuwaiti authorities ensuring swift repatriation, is onboard the aircraft," it added.
The aircraft is then expected to reach Delhi as some of the Indians killed are from north Indian states, they said.
Ernakulam Range DIG Putta Vimaladitya told ANI that all arrangements have been made 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. Besides the 23 bodies belonging to Kerala, seven will go to Tamil Nadu and one to Karnataka. A dedicated vehicle will be provided for each, the DIG told ANI.
Twenty-three of the 45 Indians who died in the inferno were residents of Kerala. Of the remaining, 7 were from Tamil Nadu, 3 from Andhra Pradesh, 1 each from Bihar, Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Punjab, and West Bengal.
The minister, who left for Kuwait on Thursday morning, visited Mubarak Al Kabeer Hospital and the Jaber Hospital where several injured Indians have been admitted. He also intervened to ensure a speedy identification process, including DNA tests on the bodies. Singh also met the Gulf nation's foreign minister Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya, Al-Sabah and Health Minister Ahmad Abdelwahab Ahmad Al-Awadi.
In the meeting with Singh, the Kuwaiti Health Minister briefed him on steps taken to ensure the speedy recovery of Indians under his "personal supervision", according to the Indian embassy. The country's foreign minister also assured full support, including medical care for the injured, early repatriation of mortal remains and investigation into the incident.