41 die in wedding tent inferno

THE fire at a wedding tent in Kuwait that killed 41 women and children consumed the structure in a blazing inferno lasting just three minutes, the fire department chief said yesterday.

“It was a horrific scene with bodies and many shoes stuck to the ground at the only exit, they must have trampled over one another,” said Brig Gen Jassem al-Mansouri, the day after the disaster.

He said Kuwaiti authorities were running DNA tests to identify the 35 women and six children killed in the fire, which left many victims unrecognisable.

Authorities were investigating the cause and al-Mansouri said it could have been faulty electrical wiring, a problem with the equipment used to keep the wedding food buffet warm or the coals used for burning incense.