Gulf Kannadiga - a reflection of Karnataka in the Gulf

ಕುವೈತ್ ಮದುವೆ ಸಮಾರಂಭದ ಟೆಂಟ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಶನಿವಾರ ರಾತ್ರಿ ಅಗ್ನಿಅನಾಹುತ ಸಂಭವಿಸಿದ್ದರಿಂದ ಕನಿಷ್ಠ 41 ಮಹಿಳೆಯರು ಮತ್ತು ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಅಸುನೀಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಮತ್ತು ಹತ್ತಾರು ಮಂದಿ ಗಾಯಗೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆಂದು ಮಾಧ್ಯಮದ ವರದಿಗಳು ತಿಳಿಸಿವೆ.

ಜಾಹ್ರಾದ ಅಯೊನ್ ಪ್ರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದ ವಿವಾಹದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಗ್ನಿಆಕಸ್ಮಿಕ ಸಂಭವಿಸಿದ್ದರಿಂದ ಜನರು ದಿಕ್ಕಾಪಾಲಾಗಿ ಓಡಿ ಕಾಲ್ತುಳಿತ ಸಂಭವಿಸಿದ್ದರಿಂದ ಈ ದುರಂತ ಸಂಭವಿಸಿದೆ. ಅಗ್ನಿ ಆಕಸ್ಮಿಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಕನಿಷ್ಠ 70 ಜನರು ಗಾಯಗೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆಂದು ಅಲ್ ಜಜೀರಾ ವರದಿ ಮಾಡಿದೆ. ಬೆಂಕಿ ಆಕಸ್ಮಿಕಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣವನ್ನು ಇನ್ನೂ ನಿರ್ಧರಿಸಬೇಕಿದ್ದು, ತನಿಖೆ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದೆಯೆಂದು ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು ತಿಳಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ಬೆಂಕಿಯನ್ನು ನಂದಿಸಲು ಕನಿಷ್ಠ 20 ಅಗ್ನಿಶಾಮಕ ವಾಹನಗಳು ಮತ್ತು 12 ಮಂದಿ ಅಗ್ನಿಶಾಮಕ ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿ ಶ್ರಮಿಸಿದರೆಂದು ಮೇ. ಜನರಲ್ ಜಸಿಂ ಅಲ್ ಮನ್‌ಸೌರಿ ತಿಳಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಡೇರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಿಕ್ಕಿರಿದು ಜನರು ತುಂಬಿದ್ದರಿಂದ ಸತ್ತವರ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆ ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ಏರಿಕೆಯಾಗುವ ಸಂಭವವಿದೆಯೆಂದು ಅವರು ಹೇಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

August 16, 2009. Manama, Bahrain: Kuwait on Sunday began the identifying and burying the victims of a fire that engulfed a wedding tent that left at least 41 women and children dead.

Police said that 76 victims were taken to hospitals for burn and asphyxiation treatment after the fire engulfed the tent exclusively reserved for women in Al Jahra, west of Kuwait City on Saturday.

The tent had been set up in front of the groom’s house to accommodate the large number of guests.

The police are still investigating the cause of the fire amid speculation that it resulted from electricity extension wires or from candles.

Several lawmakers urged the government to take "prompt action to help the families and the victims through the painful and critical times they are living."

On Sunday, the fire department chief said that that fire consumed the structure in a blazing inferno lasting just three minutes.

"It was a horrific scene with bodies and many shoes stuck to the ground at the only exit, they must have trampled over one another," said Brig. Gen. Jassem Al Mansouri the day after the disaster.

He said Kuwaiti authorities were running DNA tests to identify the 35 women and six children killed in the fire, which left many victims unrecognisable.

Al Mansouri said it could have been faulty electrical wiring, a problem with the equipment used to keep the expansive wedding food buffet warm or the coals used for burning incense.

He added that the fire in Al Jahra, a tribal area west of the capital, was the worst he has seen in his almost four decades of service in Kuwait.

Al Mansouri said 58 injured were still in hospitals, seven in serious condition with severe burns

Events in tents should be licensed so that authorities can ensure it has the necessary safety features, said the chief, adding that Saturday's event was not licensed.

The upholstery and the stuffing of the chairs used was also highly flammable, he said.

It was not clear if the bride survived or how many were in the tent when it caught fire. Al Mansouri said the structure could have housed up to 180 people.