Kuwait fire: Mortal remains of 31 Indians handed over to families at Kochi

The mortal remains of 31 of 45 Indians who got killed in the tragic fire in Kuwait were handed over to their families at Cochin International Airport on Friday. The Kerala government paid floral tributes to the deceased at the airport premises.

The Indian Air Force aircraft carrying the mortal remains of 45 Indians reached Cochin International Airport around10.25am. Minister of State for External Affairs of India, Kirti Vardhan Singh, was also onboard.

On arrival, the bodies of 31 persons from Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were deplaned. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, state cabinet, Opposition leader V.D. Satheeshan, Union Ministers Suresh Gopi and  Kirti Vardhan Singh, and leaders of various political parties arrived at the airport and paid floral tributes to the mortal remains. The State police gave a guard of honour at the airport. 

Addressing presspersons earlier, Vijayan said the remains of 31 Indians have reached Kochi, of which 23 are Keralaites, seven from Tamil Nadu and one from Karnataka. The chief minister condemned the Centre for not giving political clearance for Health Minister Veena George’s travel to Kuwait on Thursday.

Reaching Kochi, Union Minister Singh told ANI, "31 victims are from Kerala and surrounding southern states. Their mortal remains are being offloaded here. The remaining will be offloaded in Delhi and then from there, they will be transferred to their respective homes."

Singh said the Centre acted swiftly once they came to know about the incident. The union minister said he visited  32-35 patients of Indian origin, undergoing treatment at five hospitals in Kuwait and enquired about their well-being. "Most of them are likely to be discharged in a couple of days," he said. 

Singh added the Kuwait administration has taken the incident very seriously. "The Kuwaiti government has taken this incident very seriously. They are inquiring how it happened so that this kind of tragic incident is never repeated. They have also assured us that all the paperwork regarding the insurance that is to be paid to the families and the compensation will be done as immediately as possible. His Highness has also, from his part, provided compensation to the families of the victims who have perished in this tragic incident," ANI reported quoting the minister.

Tamil Nadu Minister Gingee K.S. Masthan also reached the airport to pay tributes and received the mortal remains of persons from Tamil Nadu.

Twenty-three of the 45 Indians who died in the inferno were residents of Kerala. Of the remaining, seven were from Tamil Nadu, three from Andhra Pradesh, and one each from Bihar, Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Punjab, and West Bengal.

According to Health Minister Veena George, ambulances have been arranged for the transportation of the mortal remains to their respective districts. The majority of the deceased from Kerala were from Pathanamthitta district, officials said.

The aircraft will now fly to Delhi as some of the Indians killed are from north Indian states, officials said.