He leaped onto water tank, survived with broken ribs

Kasaragod (Kerala), June 13

A split-second decision by Nalinakshan, who was among those in the residential building in Kuwait which caught fire, saved his life.

A resident of Thrikkaripur in northern Kerala, he found himself trapped on a third floor apartment in the building when the tragedy struck. In a daring bid to escape the flames, he made a split-second decision that saved his life—he jumped off the building onto an adjacent water tank.

Though the leap to safety left him with broken ribs and injuries, Nalinakshan managed to survive the tragedy. Relatives who lived nearby quickly found him and rushed him to a hospital in Kuwait for urgent medical care.

“We received the shocking news around 11 am on Wednesday. He had jumped onto the water tank, but couldn’t move. Our relatives found him there and immediately took him to hospital,” Nalinakshan’s uncle Balakrishnan told a news channel here. He said the family could not speak much to Nalinakshan on the phone as he was bleeding from his mouth.

“We haven’t been able to speak much with Nalinakshan because of the injuries. His surgery will be performed, and we are slightly relieved because he is being treated at a good hospital there,” Balakrishnan added. Nalinakshan had visited his family in March to participate in the annual Kaliyattam festival here.

According to the Department of Non-Resident Keralites Affairs of State of Kerala (NORKA Roots), the number of people from Kerala who died in the Kuwait fire tragedy has risen to 24. Kuwait authorities have reported that the devastating fire in the seven-story building in Mangaf in the Ahmadi Governorate of the country has claimed the lives of 49 foreign workers and injured 50 others.