Manama, July 30
At least 16 Indians, all from Tamil Nadu, died of suffocation and 11 were injured when a fire broke out in a three-storey building housing over 200 expatriates in this capital city of Bahrain early today.The fire, apparently caused by a short-circuit, broke out at around 5 am (IST) in the second floor of the building, being used as a residence for workers in the Gudabiya area here,
officials said.
“Nearly 16 suffocated to death due to heavy smoke, seven injured and 196 have been rescued”, the Interior Ministry said.
Indian Ambassador to Manama Balakrishna Shetty, who, along with Bahrain Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, visited the scene, said the seven injured were on oxygen support in hospital.
One of the injured also suffered a fracture in his hand as he tried to jump from a window to escape the fire, he said.
However, all injured were out of danger, Mr Shetty said.
The Ambassador said all victims, both dead and injured, were from Tamil Nadu and worked for Royal Towers Construction company.
The people on the ground and first floors of the building escaped the fire and shifted to a neighbouring gym.
The company was warned in
January over the poor safety of the workers, but it had not taken any safety measures and was flouting the labour laws, he said.
The Ambassador said the workers were living in overcrowded rooms with unhealthy conditions in the building, which housed only Indians.
About the last rites of the dead, Mr Shetty said, “Once we get the list of the victims, we will contact their families and ask where they want the last rites to be performed”. The police said the incident took place when there were 218 persons in the building. However, the workers claimed that there were over 350 Indians there.
The Bahrain Prime Minister, who visited the site along with senior ministers, offered his condolences to the Indian Government over the death of the Indian nationals.
The authorities were considering announcing some compensation for those killed.
Mr Shetty said the Shaikh had promised to help the victims and their families, raising hopes that at least some compensation would be paid. As the poor workers did not possess any legal papers, they were not entitled to any compensation, sources said.
The workers alleged that they had been duped by recruitment agents to pay Rs 1.25 lakh each for a free visa (irregular employment visa) for a job that promised Bahrain Dinars 100 (Rs 10,000) a month.
But, after various “'unauthorised” deductions, they got only BD 20 in hand and were at the mercy of the employers, the diplomat said. Meanwhile, the Indian Government released the list of those killed and injured in the fire.
Those killed in the fire are: Raja Velu, Raja, Balu Samy, Poomalai, Muthuvel, Senthil, Shiva, Kannadasan, Chinnadurai, Kumar, Sivaprakasham, Palai Muthu, Muthian, Rajaratnam, Subrahmanian and Shankar.
The injured, being treated in Salmaniya medical hospital, are: S. Tevandran, Ramachandran Thangarasu, Sai Kumar, A. Nelmubugan, Raja Sekharan, Ranganathan, R. Dhanabar, Venkatesa Murthy, Sellavel Shanmughan, Muthusamy Poomalai and Rajavel Dhanabal.
— PTI, UNI
