At Least 41 Dead in Wedding Tent Fire in Kuwait
AdventureMan called first thing this morning on his way to work and said he heard this on the radio. We are so sorry this has happened. What a sad, sad ending to a joyful occasion.
AOL News and Associated Press report the death toll is at least 41 women and children.
KUWAIT CITY (Aug. 15) – A fire at a wedding tent Saturday has killed at least 41 women and children guests and injured 76 others, authorities said.
The official Kuwait News Agency quotes the fire department chief, Brig. Gen. Jassem al-Mansouri, as saying 41 bodies have been recovered from the scene in Jahra, a tribal area west of Kuwait City. KUNA said 76 people have been hospitalized with burns.
Jahra wedding fire kills dozens
Published Date: August 16, 2009
By Hanan Al-Saadoun
Kuwait Times
KUWAIT: Dozens of people were killed late yesterday when a fire broke out in a wedding tent in the Ayoun area of Jahra. Sources said all the victims were women. Rescue efforts were hampered because the burning tent collapsed on the women and the power supply failed. Many of the women were also killed in a stampede that ensued. Twenty fire trucks and dozens of firemen battled the blaze, while the injured were rushed to hospitals.
TV channels put the toll at more than 44. Incidentally the victims of yesterday’s fire, said to be from the Al-Enezi family, are relatives of a few ill-fated women who died in a similar accident in Jahra a few months ago.
The Director General of the Fire Department Major General Jassim Al-Mansouri earlier said fire fighters teams were continuing to recover dead bodies from the tent, noting that preliminary estimates put the number of fatalities at 13. Al-Mansouri said that the death toll could rise due to the large number of injuries as result of the stampede that followed the eruption of the fire at the tent that was packed with people.
The official added four fire fighter teams were mobilized, including Al-Jahra, Al-Jahra Al-Harafi, Al-Sulaibiya and Al-Ardiya departments, in addition to help from specialized departments in combating the fire and transferring those injured to nearby hospitals.
An investigation was opened to probe the reason behind the fire, Al-Mansouri added.
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Its very sad 😦 I read 45 people in the newspaper today morning…
It’s not the first incident, few months ago it happened in a wedding hall. Poor people. What a miserable ending on such a day.
Very sad indeed , this follows previous similar tragedy six months ago in the same area but it was in a wedding Hall ,but with all safety precautions ignored , Weddings tend to be family or tribal concentrated events , i understand that this time it it is Al Thufeeri(Al zufairi) tribe who are having the biggest casualties .
It seems we did not learn from these kind of disasters in the past as a matter of fact we are now accustomed to summertime as the humongous fires season in Kuwait .
To top it all there are some racial incrimination (Bedouin desert origin Vs Hather city origin) and finger pointing going on ground that if the fire was in the city area the medical and fire services and accountability will be more stringent .So we expect political fall out .
One fire in Kuwait killed 40plus people and rising , yet a forest fire in california have been raging for the last week and it is all contained .
Lets hope and pray for safety for all
I imagine there are also many many who are injured, Amu? What a terrible tragedy.
MacaholicQ8 – I remember; I think I was still living in Q8 at the time. Heartbreaking.
Daggero, what I don’t understand is how the fingers can be pointing when the CAUSE of the fire was clearly local, meaning whoever owned the wedding hall (six months ago) or the wedding tent (last night) would be responsible for making sure that electrical wiring, etc., was all up to date. I see that four fire departments sent units to assist – that sounds like the community coming together and cooperating to me. (And a big hooray for the firefighters who risk their lives every day to save people from fiery death) but then, people being people, rather than take responsibility, they point fingers. Aaarrgh. It breaks my heart to see something already tragic become fodder for intertribal bickering.
So terribly tragic. I don’t think blaming the fire dept should even be considered at this point..
The facts have not all come out.
Sincere condolences to the surviving family members. What a sad day for Q8.
News circulating in Kuwait via sms and now newspapers’ online websites saying that the police are investigating the Groom’s Ex wife who confessed to planning to set the Wedding tent on fire by pouring Gasoline but she claims that at the last moment she decided against it. However police has found in her possession the gasoline can half empty ????!!!! . It is really a disaster of epic proportions .
Government has banned using Tents for celebrations and weddings
Americana – so, so sad.
Daggero – OMG. OMG – how horrible, and how unthinkable, if true. Oh, that poor woman, if she has done this terrible thing. How will she live with herself?
The latest news supports daggero’s information – she apparently confressed.
http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=ODQyNDMyMjM1
Every aspect of this story is a major story in its own right! A huge number for a small country, all victims are women and children, many are only recognised via DNA testing, not an accident, and the criminal is a young woman! This is all in Kuwait!
O. I just read the report, BitJockey. Horrifying. The detail about the shoes melted to the floor, all that remains of the tables is their metal underpinnings – horrible. Horrible. And the poor woman who is responsible! Imagine, to have to live with that the rest of your life, which may be a very short life. Horrifying.
Oh, Bu Yousef, it is the stuff of a horror novel, isn’t it? Who would believe something like this could really happen, that insane jealousy could bring so much devastation? Oh, it is a sad, sad time for Kuwait families. I am so sorry.