Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his Cabinet colleagues and Union Minister of State for Tourism and Petroleum Suresh Gopi paid homage to the 31 victims of the Kuwait fire tragedy on Friday after the arrival of their mortal remains at the Cochin International Airport.

Earlier, an Indian Air Force aircraft carrying the mortal remains of 45 Indians, who died in a building fire in Kuwait’s Mangaf, landed at Kochi airport at 10.25 am.

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Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, who coordinated with the Kuwait authorities in the repatriation of the bodies, was onboard the aircraft

The 31 bodies of the victims, 23 from Kerala, seven from Tamil Nadu and one from Karnataka were handed over to the authorities in Kochi. After clearance, the remaining 14 bodies were sent to Delhi by the same aircraft.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, ministers, Suresh Gopi and Opposition leader VD Satheesan received the mortal remains of the 23 victims from Kerala at the airport.

Pinarayi Vijayan, his cabinet colleagues, Union Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh and Union Minister of State for Tourism and Petroleum Suresh Gopi, laid wreaths on the bodies placed 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

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 a 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.

The Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery in Kochi turned into a huge gathering of mourners as hundreds of people from across Kerala converged at the airport terminal on Friday to receive the mortal remains of 31 expatriate workers who died in the Kuwait building fire.

Heart-rending scenes were witnessed when the bodies were handed over to the family members and friends. They embraced the caskets with tears. Close family members accompanied the bodies in the ambulances.

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

The body of Vijayakumar Prasanna from Kalaburagi, Karnataka was airlifted by a special aircraft to be deployed by the Karnataka government.

At least 50 workers, including 45 Indians, were killed and 49 others injured on the building fire in Kuwait’s Mangaf on Wednesday.

The Kerala chief minister described the incident as the biggest tragedy involving expatriates. “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 interventions,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Suresh Gopi said Kerala would stand by the family members of the deceased. “Expatriates play a crucial role in Kerala’s economic development. So we should give priority to this fact,” he said.

Speaking about the compensation to the bereaved families, he pointed out that the Central government would take appropriate action.

Gopi promised to build a house for Kuwait fire tragedy victim Benoy Thomas, a native of Chavakkad in Thrissur.

Benoy Thomas went to Kuwait on the 5th of this month. His sole dream was to enlarge and refurbish the one-room house built under the three-cent PMAY scheme. On 6th June, he resumed work as a packing employee at HyperMart. The family of Benoy were drawn to silence when his friend Ben dialled home to confirm the death news of Benoy on Wednesday.