jordan pulse -

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior announced on Wednesday that the death toll from a fire in a building housing foreign workers in the Al-Mangaf area in the south of the country has risen to 49, according to the official Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

The Deputy Prime Minister of Kuwait, Sheikh Fahd Yusuf Saud Al-Sabah, stated that a fire broke out in a building housing workers early on Wednesday morning, resulting in at least 41 deaths.

His statements came during his inspection of the fire site.

The Deputy Prime Minister accused property owners of committing “violations and greed,” saying that these factors contributed to the outbreak of the fire.

Sheikh Fahd, who is also the Minister of Interior and Defense, said, “Unfortunately, the greed of property owners leads to these incidents. I will speak with the director of the municipality… From now on, I am speaking with all property owners…”

He confirmed that the municipality and demolition teams “will deal with all violations in all properties from tomorrow (Thursday) without prior warnings,” indicating that “the owner of the property where the fire occurred will be detained for investigation to determine if there was any negligence or dereliction until the completion of legal procedures.”

Major General Eid Rashed Hamad clarified that a report of the incident reached the authorities at six o’clock in the morning local time.

Another senior police officer told the official television that “the fire broke out in a building used as workers’ accommodation, and there was a large number of workers in this building. Dozens of workers were rescued, but unfortunately, there are many deaths due to smoke inhalation, and there are also a large number of injured who have been sent to hospitals for necessary treatment…”

He continued, “We always warn and caution against using buildings for workers’ accommodation and having a large number of people living in these buildings… and the presence of a large number in the floors and in the escape routes, which led to their suffocation and difficulty in exiting the building.”

No details were provided about the nature of the workers’ jobs or their nationalities.

Officials said the fire had been contained and authorities were investigating its causes.