At least 40 Indian nationals were killed and dozens injured in Kuwait after a fire engulfed a six-storey building housing dozens of labourers. Officials said that most of the deaths were due to smoke inhalation as the residents were asleep when the fire broke out early Wednesday. The fire broke out in a kitchen on one of the lower floors of the building in the Mangaf area in Kuwait’s southern Ahmadi Governorate. According to Arab Times, most of the deceased were from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and north Indian states, with their age ranging from 20 to 50 years. Kuwait’s deputy prime minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousuf Al-Sabah, who is also the minister of interior, said the fire mishap was a “result of the greed of the company and building owners”. The building is rented by the NBTC group, reportedly owned by Malayali businessman KG Abraham. Low-paid, blue-collar workers in the Gulf often live in overcrowded accommodations.