Deadly Kuwait blaze: 8, including 3 Indians, released on bail pending trial
Defendants face charges of manslaughter, negligence in connection with fatal fire
Cairo: An investigative judge in Kuwait has ordered the release from custody of eight people in connection with a fire that killed 49 in a building housing foreign workers last month.
The eight are to be released after paying a bail of KD300 each (Dh3,600) pending their trial.
The eight are four Egyptians, three Indians and one Kuwaiti national charged with manslaughter, wrongful injury, perjury and negligence linked to the devastating blaze that swept across the building in Mangaf area, south of the capital Kuwait City, Al Rai newspaper reported.
A date for starting their trial will be set, Al Qabas newspaper reported, citing what it termed as a well-informed source.
Fire Force investigators have attributed the Mangaf blaze on a short electric circuit, saying it started around dawn in the room of the building guard before it spread into the six-floor residence.
The fatalities included 45 Indians and three Filipinos.
The high death toll was due to inflammable partitions separating apartments and rooms on the building as well as the closure of its rooftop, making it difficult for the residents to escape from the blaze, according to chief of fire investigations Col. Sayyed Hassan.
In the wake of the tragedy, prosecutors initially ordered the jailing of two expatriates and a Kuwaiti pending investigations on charges of manslaughter and wrongful injury resulting from negligence in adopting security and safety measures in the ill-fated building.
Moreover, senior municipal officials in Al Ahmadi governorate administratively overseeing Mangaf were suspended from duty pending the completion of investigations.
The fire, one of the worst in Kuwait, has prompted the government to initiate a massive-scale crackdown on violations of the building code across the country.