Wedding carnage: Kuwait begins identifying fire victims

KUWAIT CITY : Kuwaiti authorities are running DNA tests to identify the 41 women and children killed in a wedding tent fire.

Fire department chief Brig. Gen. Jasem Al Mansouri says the tent in which the wedding celebration was being held was completely consumed in just three minutes in a blazing inferno that left many victims unrecognisable.

The cause of the fire is still unclear, but could have been faulty electrical wiring, food heating equipment or coals used for burning incense.

The brigadier said the fire in Al Jahra, west of the capital, Saturday was the worst he had seen in his almost four decades of service in this small oil-rich state.

Wedding parties are held separately for women and men in Kuwait, with children attending the women's part of the celebration.

The private Al Rai television channel quoted the Al Mansouri as saying 61 people were critically injured.

The state news agency KUNA said 41 bodies had been recovered from the smouldering remains of the tent.

"The number of fatalities might increase due to the large number of injuries as result of a stampede that followed the outbreak of the fire at the tent that was packed with people at the wedding," Mansouri told KUNA.

He said authorities were investigating the cause of the blaze.

Weddings in Kuwait are mostly segregated, with women seated separately from men. Tents are often erected especially for the occasion.