Compensation to 16 killed, 7 injured in Bahrain fire, doubtful

Dubai, July 30 (UNI) Sixteen people, mostly poorly-paid illegal workers from Tamil Nadu, were killed and seven others injured in a devastating fire in the Bahrain capital of Manama early today.

Bahrain Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and Indian Ambassador to Manama Balakrishna Shetty visited the accident site. The injured are being treated in Falmania Hospital in Manama.

The fire reportedly emanated from the second floor of a three-storey building and the deaths were caused by suffocation due to smoke inhalation.

The Overseas Indian Affairs (OIA) Ministry New Delhi has released the list of deceased who have been identified as Rajavelu, Raja, Baluswamy, Pomalai, Muthuvel, Senithil, Shiva, Kannadasan, Chinnadurai, Sivaprakasam, Palaimuthu, Kumar, Muthian, Rajaretnam, Subramanian and Shankar.

''We are waiting for more details. We are in constant touch with the Indian embassy in Bahrain. It is not known how the fire broke out,'' a ministry spokesman said.

Union Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi told mediapersons in Chennai that he had already asked the Indian embassy in Bahrain to take all efforts for airlifting the bodies of the deceased to their native place in Tamil Nadu. He said the bodies would reach here either tomorrow or the day after.

The fire broke out at around 0230 hrs local time (0500 hrs IST) in the second floor in the building which houses the labour camp accommodating nearly 300 workers, mostly from Asian countries.

The labour camp belonged to the Royal Tower Construction Company.

''From the nature and magnitude of the accident, we believe that more people may have perished,'' the spokesman said.

Mr Shetty said the Shaikh had promised to help the victims and their families, raising hopes that at least some compensation would be paid. As the poor workers do not possess any legal papers, they are not entitled to any compensation, sources said.

Workers alleged that they had been duped by recruitment agents to pay Rs 1.25 lakh each for a free visa (irregular employment visa) for a job that promised Bahrain Dinars 100 (Rs 10,000) a month.

But after various ''unauthorised'' deductions, they get only BD 20 in hand and are at the mercy of the employers, diplomats said.

The company was warned in January over the poor safety of the overcrowded building where according to police 218 people lived, but the Indians claimed there were 350 people.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee have expressed shock and sorrow over the incident. They conveyed their condolences to the members of the bereaved families and wished the injured, a speedy recovery.

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