Three Asians killed in Kuwait apartment block fire: report

Kuwait City, March 20, 2010  - Three Asians died in an apartment block fire in a Kuwait City suburb that started in a basement used to store cosmetics and perfumes, the state news agency KUNA reported on Saturday.

Three firemen were injured in fighting the blaze, along with four other Asian expatriates, whose nationalities were not given.

A fire service spokesman, Khalil al-Amir, said the victims were all residents of the apartment block, whose basement was being used for storage without the proper safety precautions.

Asian labourers and families account for more than two-thirds of the oil-rich Gulf Arab state's 2.35 million foreigners, vastly outnumbering one million Kuwaiti nationals.