No Bangladeshi victims in Kuwait fire that killed 41 foreign workers

A devastating fire tore through a building housing foreign workers in Kuwait early Wednesday, killing at least 41 people. Officials have linked the blaze to code violations.

Abdul Hossain, Labour Counsellor at the Bangladesh Embassy in Kuwait, confirmed that no Bangladeshi nationals were among the victims. "According to updated information from the company and hospital, no Bangladeshi worker died in today‍‍`s fire incident," Hossain told UNB after visiting the site of the fire.

The company that housed its workers in the building had not submitted any job demand letters for attestation by the Bangladesh Embassy, indicating no official employment connections with Bangladeshi workers.

Kuwait’s Interior Minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousuf Al-Sabah confirmed the death toll and ordered the arrest of the building’s owner during his visit to the site. “We will address the issue of labor overcrowding,” he said. “I’m now going to see what violations were committed here and I will deal with the owner of the property.”

Local media reported that scores of workers lived in the building in the southern Mangaf district but did not specify their nationalities.

Col. Sayed Hassan al-Mousawi, head of the local firefighters’ Accident Investigation Department, indicated that the number of casualties could rise as the final death toll is confirmed.

India’s ambassador to Kuwait, Adarsh Swaika, reported that over 30 Indian workers injured in the blaze were admitted to a hospital. He shared this information on X but did not confirm whether any Indian nationals had died, according to AP.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the victims and said the Indian Embassy is “closely monitoring the situation and working with the authorities there to assist the affected.” He posted on X, “The fire mishap in Kuwait City is saddening. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their near and dear ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest.”

Kuwait, like other Persian Gulf countries, has a large community of migrant workers who far outnumber the local population. The nation, with a population of around 4.2 million, is slightly smaller than the US state of New Jersey but possesses the world’s sixth-largest known oil reserves.

This tragic incident follows a 2022 fire at an oil refinery in Kuwait that killed four people.