Three Indians, four Egyptians and a Kuwaiti national have been detained in connection with the massive fire in the Gulf kingdom’s southern Ahmadinejad province that killed 50 people, including 46 Indians, a media report said on Wednesday.

The massive fire that broke out in a six-storey building in Mangaf city on July 12 was caused by an electrical short circuit in the guard room on the ground floor. The building housed 196 migrant workers, most of them Indians.

“The public prosecution has ordered the detention for two weeks of a Kuwaiti citizen, three Indian nationals and four Egyptian citizens over the fire at the Al-Mangaf building,” the English daily Arab Times reported, without naming them.

It said the defendants have been charged with manslaughter and negligence.

According to the newspaper report, on the orders of Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the families of the victims will be given compensation of US$15,000 (Rs 12.5 lakh) each.

Citing government sources, the paper said the compensation would be paid and delivered to the victims’ embassies.

46 of the dead were Indians while three others were Filipinos. One of the victims is yet to be identified.

The concerned embassies will ensure that the funds are distributed to the families of those affected by the fire, expediting the process and ensuring that the assistance reaches the families of the victims quickly and efficiently.

Kuwait’s public prosecutor has launched an investigation into the incident. The prosecutor said on X that the aim of the investigation is to determine the circumstances behind the incident and what caused the deadly fire.