41 people are reported to have died after a fire which started in a tent set up for use by women and children at a wedding. The news comes from Kuwait’s interior ministry.
The fire is said to have started late in to Saturday evening. It began whilst wedding guests were celebrating at a party in the al-Jahra region which is situated west of Kuwait. It’s estimated 60 women and children were injured, a lot of them from a stampede which occurred after the outbreak of the fire. It has not yet been confirmed what caused the fire. and an investigation has now got underway. A total of four teams of fire fighters arrived at the scene and a number of ambulances were needed to take those injured to hospital.
Officials are said to have found evacuating the scene of the blaze difficult because of the high numbers of concerned family members gathered there. There have been conflicting reports on how many people died in the fire. A statement from the interior ministry stated 36 had died whilst a state news agency, Kuna, said that 41 bodies had been found in the aftermath of the fire. In Kuwait it is customary for wedding parties to be held apart with children attending the womens celebration
source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8203733.stm
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