Kuwait fire: Kerala pays respect to victims at Kochi airport

Kerala government delegation pays homage to Kuwait fire victims at Cochin airport, emphasizing expatriate importance and tragedy prevention.

A Kerala government delegation led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Cabinet colleagues paid homage to the mortal remains of 31 victims of the Kuwait fire brought here at the Cochin international airport by an Indian Air Force special aircraft, C-130J Hercules at 10.30 a.m. on June 14.

Mr. Vijayan, along with the Union Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, laid wreaths on the bodies laid out on 16 specially decorated tables adorned with white flannels arranged in the reception area of the import cargo terminal. The victims were also given a guard of honour.

The bodies included that of 23 Malayalis, seven Tamils and one from Karnataka. Mr. Singh accompanied the bodies. The mortal remains of the other 14 victims were ferried to Delhi by the same aircraft, which operated as a domestic flight from the Kochi airport.

Mr. Vijayan dubbed the incident as the biggest tragedy involving expatriates. Steps should be taken to avert similar tragedies in the future. “Expatriates are the lifeline of Kerala. This is an unbearable tragedy for the families waiting for the return of their dear ones. Hopefully, the Kuwait government will pay due compensation to the families of the victims and take necessary measures to avert a similar tragedy. The Centre should also make effective intervention,” he said.

Mr. Vijayan declined to be drawn into the controversy surrounding the denial of clearance to the Health Minister Veena George to fly to Kuwait as the Kerala government representative on June 13. “This is not the time to respond to controversies. The Centre effectively intervened for the affected people in Kuwait. The Kuwait government also responded diligently,” he added.

Norka Roots, the Kerala government’s outreach agency for the non-resident Keralites, had arranged ambulances for ferrying the bodies of all the 23 Malayali victims to their houses across the State. The Kerala Police also arranged dedicated end-to-end pilot for all 23 victims up to their homes and up to the border in the case of victims from Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu Minister for Minorities Welfare and Non-Resident Tamils Welfare ‘Gingee’ K.S. Masthan had turned up to receive the mortal remains of seven victims from his State. Ambulances from Tamil Nadu had also been deployed.