Indian Worker Killed in Iranian Strike on Kuwait Facility; Death Toll Rises

In a post on X, the Embassy said, "Embassy of India in Kuwait expresses its deepest condolences at the tragic demise of an Indian national due to an attack on a desalination facility in Kuwait yesterday. The Embassy is closely coordinating with the Kuwaiti authorities to render all possible support and assistance."

An Indian worker was killed in a strike carried out by Iran on a power and water desalination facility in Kuwait early on Monday, the Kuwaiti government announced. This has now pushed the number of Indian nationals killed in the ongoing West Asia conflict to at least eight.

In a post on X, Kuwait's Ministry of Electricity and Water confirmed that the attack also caused damage to a service building at the facility and strongly condemned it as a "sinful Iranian aggression" against the Gulf nation.

"This attack resulted in the death of an employee (of Indian nationality) and caused severe material damage to the building," the Ministry said in Arabic (roughly translated to English).

Officials added that emergency and technical response teams were immediately deployed to the site to manage the situation, contain the damage, and ensure that operations at the facility continued without major disruption.

The Ministry further emphasised that the "safety and stability of the electricity and water infrastructure constitute a top priority," noting that technical teams are actively working to anticipate any further risks and ensure uninterrupted delivery of essential services.

The latest fatality comes days after another tragic incident in the United Arab Emirates, where an Indian national lost his life last Thursday after being struck by falling debris when a ballistic missile was intercepted over Abu Dhabi.

At the time, the Indian Embassy had said it was "closely working with the UAE authorities to provide all possible support and assistance" to those affected.

Following an inter-ministerial review meeting held on Friday, the government had stated that seven Indian nationals had been killed in the Middle East conflict so far, with one person reported missing. Monday's incident has now taken the death toll higher.

The conflict, which has now entered its fifth week, erupted after the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran, triggering a broader regional escalation.

Since then, Iranian forces have carried out retaliatory drone and missile attacks targeting Israel as well as Gulf countries hosting American military installations, leading to casualties and significant damage to critical infrastructure across the region.

- IANS