An official from the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior, cited by the country's news agency (KUNA), indicated that the fire occurred in the early hours of today, for reasons still unknown, in the district of Al-Manqab, in the province of Al-Ahmadi, south of the capital of Kuwait.
"More than 35 people died in that building, most of them from asphyxiation," said the director of the forensic department at the Ministry of Interior, General Eid Al-Qwaihan, indicating that "at least 15 injured people were taken to hospitals and four of those died later."
Al-Qwaihan, also quoted by Kuwaiti state television, said that firefighting teams had controlled the fire and now "an attempt is being made to identify the victims". The nationalities of the victims are currently unknown.
"It is a preliminary count. An emergency team, with forensic experts, is working in the building and the victims will be identified here or in hospitals", he highlighted.
Several local media outlets broadcast images showing black smoke coming out of a six-story building.
Fires are frequent in Kuwait in the summer months due to the high temperatures that characterize the Persian Gulf region, which in that country sometimes reach 50 degrees Celsius.
Kuwait has a population of around 4.2 million, two-thirds of whom are migrants and refugees working in the small but wealthy Gulf country, the majority of whom are from Asian countries.
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