One more in Kuwait, eight Indians so far killed in West Asia conflict

New Delhi: The number of Indians killed in the latest round of conflicts in West Asia went up to eight, with one more citizen of the country losing his life in a drone attack Iran carried out on Kuwait in response to the military offensive launched against the Persian Gulf nation by Israel and the United States on February 28.

The man was killed when a service building at a water desalination plant in Kuwait was targeted by a drone attack launched by Iran on Sunday.

The Embassy of India in Kuwait confirmed the death of a citizen of the country in a post on X early on Monday. The embassy is “closely coordinating with the Kuwaiti authorities to render all possible support and assistance”, it added.

New Delhi’s envoy to Kuwait City, Paramita Tripathi, later in the day, went to the mortuary where the mortal remains of the deceased were kept. She met Brig Abdulrahim Al-Awadhi, the general manager of the General Department of Criminal Evidence, and conveyed “appreciation for prompt and sensitive support on the matter”, according to a post on X by New Delhi’s diplomatic mission in the capital of Kuwait.

The Embassy of India in Kuwait City is in touch with the family of the deceased citizen of India and is coordinating with the authorities for expeditious repatriation of the mortal remains.

Aseem R Mahajan, the Additional Secretary (Gulf) at the Ministry of External Affairs, told journalists in New Delhi that eight citizens of India had lost their lives in West Asia since the beginning of the conflict, while another remained missing.

Iran responded to the military offensive against it by launching aerial strikes on Israel and the US allies in West Asia.

Three Indian seafarers had earlier died in attacks on merchant vessels in the Persian Gulf region. Two workers had been killed in a strike on an industrial facility in Oman, while another Indian had died in Riyadh during a drone attack. In Abu Dhabi, an Indian was killed by falling debris after the interception of an incoming aerial attack.

The MEA stated that it continued to closely monitor the evolving situation in the Gulf and West Asia region. “We continue to call for restraint and de-escalation, and at the same time emphasise dialogue and diplomacy, as a means to an early end to the conflict,” Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of the MEA, said on Monday.

The MEA stated that nearly 5.5 lakh Indians had so far returned from the region since the beginning of the conflict on February 28.