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Kuwait wedding fire killed 41 people in 3 minutes
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 16 - 08 - 2009


A fire that tore through a wedding tent
outside Kuwait's capital killed 41 women and children in
just three minutes, leaving behind shoes melted to the
ground and bodies so blackened they were unrecognizable,
the fire chief said Sunday, according to AP.
Guests likely crushed one another in a desperate attempt
to flee through the only exit, he said.
The devastating fire was likely to result in restrictions
on the tradition of holding celebrations in such tents, a
custom which is rooted in Kuwait's nomadic heritage and
endures in tribal areas of the country.
Saturday night's blaze in al-Jahra, west of Kuwait City,
was the deadliest the country's fire department chief has
seen in four decades of service, he said.
«It was a horrific scene with bodies and many shoes stuck
to the ground at the only exit. They must have trampled
over one another,» Brig. Gen. Jassem al-Mansouri said.
Authorities were using DNA tests to identify the 35 women
and six children killed.
The cause is still being investigated. Possibilities
include faulty electrical wiring, a problem with the
equipment used to warm the food buffet or the coals used
for burning incense, al-Mansouri said.
Al-Mansouri expected tighter restrictions on the use of
such tents.
«There will certainly be a decision to ban the use of
tents without written permission,» he said. That would
ensure that authorities are aware of events and able to
check tents for safety features, he said.
The Interior Ministry also asked that tents not be set up
close to houses and that children not be taken to these
parties.
Kuwaitis hold separate wedding parties for men and women.
Men gather for dinner, while women and children sing and
dance. In the absence of men, women shed their head
coverings and wear revealing evening gowns.
At the end of the celebration, the groom comes to the
women's party to collect his bride. Women are given a
warning and they cover up in their black head-to-toe abayas
before he enters. No alcohol is served, as it is forbidden
in Islam.
In wealthier urban areas, such parties take place in
five-star hotels or special halls.
The fire left behind blackened mounds of chairs and tables
burnt down to their metal frames, as well as food trays and
charred air conditioners.
Fifty-eight wounded people remained in hospitals, seven of
them in serious condition with severe burns. It was not
clear if the bride survived the inferno.
Kuwait's emir, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, has ordered
that no expense be spared to treat the survivors and
provide comfort to their relatives.
Out of sympathy, he will not be receiving well wishers as
he traditionally does for the advent of the Muslim holy
month of Ramadan, which starts around Aug. 22.


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