Kerala Health Minister Veena George expressed disappointment on Friday with the central government’s rejection to allow her to travel to Kuwait to assist Indian people affected by a devastating fire in Mangaf, a southern city in the Gulf country.
The atmosphere at Kochi airport’s import cargo terminal was melancholy as preparations were made to receive the bodies of 45 Indian citizens killed in the Kuwait building fire on Wednesday. Ambulances were waiting at the terminal to take the victims’ remains to their families.
Early Friday morning, a special Indian Air Force C-130J aircraft flew to Kochi with the lifeless remains of the 45 deceased. Minister of State for External Affairs, Kirti Vardhan Singh, arrived in Kuwait on Friday morning to coordinate with Kuwaiti authorities for the swift repatriation, was also onboard, according to the Indian embassy.
Veena George, speaking to reporters at Cochin International Airport, lamented the decision not to grant her travel permission. “It is very unfortunate that we did not get the consent to travel to Kuwait. More than half of the people who died were from Kerala. The majority of the people who are under treatment are also from Kerala,” she said.
In response to the fire tragedy, the Kerala government held an emergency Cabinet meeting on Thursday. They announced that Veena George, along with State Mission Director (NHM) Jeevan Babu, would urgently travel to Kuwait to oversee the treatment of the injured and manage the repatriation of the deceased. Of the victims, 24 were from Kerala. George noted that while the embassy did not provide precise data on the seriously injured, their information suggested that seven people were hospitalized, with four from Kerala. She emphasized the importance of her visit to support the injured and communicate their needs to the Central Government.
Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi praised the external affairs ministry’s efforts in coordinating the treatment of Indians injured in the Kuwait fire. He also announced that he had canceled his other engagements to receive the bodies of the Malayalees who died in the tragedy at the international airport.
Kerala Revenue Minister K Rajan informed reporters that the bodies of 23 Malayalees, seven Tamilians, and one person from Karnataka would be received in Kochi. Following this, the flight carrying the remains of the other Indian victims would proceed to Delhi.
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