Kerala villagers shocked by death of beloved neighbour in Kuwait fire

Ranjith's village has been shaken by the unofficial news of his death in the fire incident in a building in Kuwait's southern city of Mangaf which killed 49 foreign workers, including around 40 Indians, and left 50 others injured.

Kasaragod (Kerala): Ranjith, a resident of northern Kerala, went to Kuwait a year and a half ago after celebrating the housewarming of his new home.

He had planned to return to his village for a vacation in July.

However, his village has been shaken by the unofficial news of his death in the fire incident in a building in Kuwait's southern city of Mangaf which killed 49 foreign workers, including around 40 Indians, and left 50 others injured.

Ranjith was known as a kind and dependable person.

He was the hope for his ailing parents, who had faced many hardships.

"He built a house and the housewarming was held a year and a half ago. He was planning to come back home in July for a vacation, but this tragedy struck," said a neighbour to a news channel.

Unofficial reports confirm that 14 people from Kerala have died in the blaze.

Efforts are underway to bring the bodies of the victims back home as soon as possible, officials said.

India's mission in Kuwait is ascertaining the full details from the Kuwaiti authorities on the fire incident.

The fire started in a kitchen of the seven-storey building housing 195 migrant workers in Mangaf in Ahmadi Governorate early on Wednesday.

The incident triggered calls for action against real estate landlords and company owners who violate the law to house large numbers of foreign labourers in extremely unsafe conditions to cut costs.