Kuwait Fire: Bodies of 45 Indians, Including 2 from Odisha Reach Kerala

Bhubaneswar: A special Air Force aircraft landed at Kerala’s Cochin International Airport at 10:30 am on Friday, repatriating the bodies of 45 Indians who died in a devastating fire in Kuwait two days ago. The victims included two individuals from Odisha.

The remains of the deceased from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka were handed over to their respective state governments in Kochi. The flight then proceeded to Delhi with the bodies from other states.

Among the deceased from Odisha were Santosh Kumar Gouda from Ranajhalli village, Ganjam district, and Mahammad Jahur from Karadapalli village, Cuttack district. Both were employees of a private company and resided in a seven-story apartment building in Mangaf, Southern Kuwait, where the fire occurred early Wednesday morning.

Official sources confirmed that the mortal remains of Gouda and Jahur would be sent to Odisha from Delhi by evening.

The fire claimed the lives of 23 people from Kerala, seven from Tamil Nadu, three from Uttar Pradesh, and one each from Bihar, Punjab, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Haryana. The victims, mostly professionals like engineers, drivers, and supervisors, were predominantly employed by NBTC, Kuwait’s largest construction firm. An electrical short circuit in an NBTC-owned building triggered the blaze.