An Indian Air Force flight landed at Kochi International Airport on Friday, carrying the mortal remains of 45 Indians who died in a tragic fire in Kuwait two days ago. India had sent a military transport aircraft to Kuwait on Thursday night to bring back the bodies of over 40 Indians killed in the fire.
The IAF C130J aircraft arrived at around 10:30 a.m. with the remains of the 45 victims. Of these, 31 bodies were received at the Kochi airport, including 23 people from Kerala, 7 from Tamil Nadu, and 1 from Karnataka.
Officials completed the customs, immigration, and health procedures for all 45 bodies at the airport. The remaining 14 bodies were then sent to Delhi on the same aircraft as a domestic flight.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, along with other central and state ministers, were present at the airport to receive and pay tribute to the deceased.
The fire, which broke out on June 12 in the Al-Mangaf building in southern Kuwait, killed at least 49 people. The majority of the victims were Indian, with others from Pakistan, the Philippines, Egypt, and Nepal. The building housed around 195 migrant workers.
The Central Government has declared an ex-gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh for the families of deceased Indian citizens from the PM Relief Fund.
(With PTI inputs)
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