Pathanamthitta (Kerala): Four members of a Malayali family died in a fire that broke out at their residence in Kuwait's Abbasiya, police said on Saturday.
The victims have been identified as Mathew Muzhakal, his wife Lini Abraham and their children, Isaac and Irene. They were residents of Thiruvalla Neerettupuram in Kerala. The family had come to Kerala for vacation and had returned to Kuwait on Friday evening.
The incident occurred an hour after they reached home. At around 9 pm, a fire broke out on the second floor of an apartment in Abbasiya, where Malayalis mostly live in Kuwait.
Neighbours saw flames and smoke engulfing from the apartment's second floor and informed police. It is being suspected that the family died of smoke inhalation. The fire brigade reached the spot immediately but could not save them. As the rescue operation was launched immediately after the incident, fire could not spread to the adjoining buildings.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the fire was caused by a short-circuit in the AC of the room, sources said.
Deceased Mathew worked in the banking sector while his wife Lini was a nurse and their children were studying at a school there. The family lived in a building near the Abbasiya United Indian School.
Last month, nearly 49 Indian nationals, mostly from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and a few north Indian states were killed after fire broke out in a building in Kuwait. The victims were unskilled and semi-skilled workers.
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