KUWAIT: Relatives of residents who sustained burn injuries in the Mangaf fire tragedy have arrived from India to visit their dear ones in Kuwait. The blaze on June 12 killed 49 people, including 46 Indians. There are currently seven people in three hospitals, including three who are undergoing treatment in intensive care units. The body of a victim from the state of Bihar in India has been identified following DNA tests. His brother Shahrukh Khan was brought by the management of NBTC, the company the victims worked for, to help identify the body. The body was repatriated later on Monday.

“Five of the relatives of the employees injured in the fire and undergoing treatment arrived in Kuwait on Sunday. Four more people will reach Kuwait by Wednesday,” Manoj Nanthiyalath, HR & Admin Corporate General Manager at NBTC, said in a press statement. The relatives of the injured workers arrived in Kuwait on visit visas facilitated by the management of NBTC so they could meet their relatives and extend assistance to them, the release said.

The presence of the wives and children brought solace and comfort to the victims, as they are still recovering from the shock of the tragedy and grappling with the physical and mental traumas the calamity inflicted on them. “As a first step, the NBTC management brought the relatives of the injured employees to Kuwait, who expressed their desire to meet their relatives. NBTC has also provided them with facilities such as visit visas, flight tickets to and from Kuwait, food and accommodation facilities and vehicles for travel,” the release added.

Earlier, NBTC announced the distribution of 800,000 Indian rupees (KD 2,940) as immediate financial assistance to the families of all those who died in the fire tragedy. The company has also shared the details of the distribution of 25,000 rupees (KD 92) for the funerals of the victims. “We are concerned about the families and will support them and provide jobs,” K G Abraham, MD of NBTC Group, said last week.

According to medical updates on Monday, Filipino national Michael Landicho Dizon, who is in the ICU, and Indian national Thomas Chacko Joseph are currently undergoing treatment at Adan Hospital, while Indian national Anilkumar Krishnasadanam Krishnapillai is under treatment in Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital. Indian nationals Sureshkumar Narayana Pillai, Dany Thomas Sebastian and Jitender Singh are being treated at Jaber Hospital.