No criminal intent found in deadly Mangaf blaze in Kuwait

Cairo: Kuwaiti prosecutors investigating a fatal fire that swept through a workers' residence in June have concluded that the case was a misdemeanour, not murder.

Technical reports on the blaze, which killed 49 people in a building housing foreign workers in the Mangaf area south of Kuwait City, indicate that the fire was not intentionally set.

After interrogating all defendants in the case, prosecutors found no evidence of criminal intent or deliberate ignition of the fire, according to judicial sources.

In July, an investigative judge ordered the release on bail of eight individuals connected to the case, with each posting KD300 pending their trial. The eight include four Egyptians, three Indians, and one Kuwaiti, all charged with manslaughter, wrongful injury, perjury, and negligence.

Fire Force investigators attributed the devastating June 12 blaze to an electrical short circuit, stating that it started around dawn in the building guard’s room before spreading throughout 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 fire, according to chief of fire investigations Col. Sayyed Hassan.

In the wake of the tragedy, prosecutors initially ordered the detention of two expatriates and a Kuwaiti citizen pending investigations on charges of manslaughter and wrongful injury due to negligence in implementing security and safety measures in the ill-fated building.

Moreover, senior municipal officials in Al Ahmadi Governorate, who administratively oversee Mangaf, were suspended from duty pending the completion of investigations.

The fire, one of the worst in Kuwait, prompted the government to initiate a relentless crackdown on violations of the building code across the country.