'Short circuit led to Mangaf fire tragedy', confirm Kuwait officials

KUWAIT CITY: The government of Kuwait on Friday confirmed short circuit to be the cause of one of the country’s worst-ever fire tragedies that took away 49 lives. The Kuwait Fire Rescue Force also affirmed the cause of the tragedy at Mangaf in Kuwait to be a short circuit. Earlier, local media reported that the cooking gas cylinder kept in the flat's security guard's room had leaked.

It was after a detailed inspection of the disaster site that the Kuwait Fire Department concluded the cause of the tragedy. Fire Force Colonel Saeed Al Mousawi said that inflammable materials were used in partition between rooms which caused the fire to spread rapidly. The incident took place during morning hours(4 am) when most of the workers were asleep. The thick smoke soon blanketed the rooms suffocating most victims to death.

196 people lived in 72 rooms in 24 flats in the six-storey building, out of which 20 people were on night duty at the time of the tragedy. The door to the building's terrace was locked, preventing those who tried to escape. The fire force officials also stated that those who tried to reach the terrace through the ladder failed to open the door.

According to NBTC company, only two died of burn injuries while the other 47 victims died of asphyxiation due to smoke.