23 foreign workers who consumed alcohol died, 160 fell ill
What you should know
11 Nepali workers have died due to consumption of toxic alcohol in the Gulf country of Kuwait. According to the Nepali Embassy in Kuwait, 11 Nepali workers have died in the last four days, while 40 sick people are being treated in various hospitals.
It has been found that citizens of various countries including Nepalis and Indians in the Salmiya area of Kuwait have been consuming such alcohol. There are 160,000 Nepalis who have come to Kuwait for employment.
31 patients are on ventilators, 51 are on emergency kidney dialysis, some are victims of blindness, most of the patients are in the intensive care unit Kuwait's Ministry of Health said that 23 foreign workers died due to alcohol consumption. According to the statement released by the ministry, 160 workers have fallen ill due to the consumption of alcohol containing methanol. Although methanol is a chemical used in industry, it has been found to be used in alcohol.
All of them are workers from Asian countries suffering from alcohol consumption. One worker after another started falling ill from the previous Saturday. When the number of people admitted to the hospital started to increase, Kuwait's drug control center and security agencies were activated. In the statement of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health, it is mentioned that 31 patients are being treated on ventilators. Similarly, 51 people are said to be undergoing emergency kidney dialysis. It has been reported that some people have been blinded accidentally. Many patients have been placed in the intensive care unit under 24-hour medical supervision. The Kuwaiti government is investigating where the poisoned alcohol came from. Kuwait's Ministry of Health has warned against such behavior to save lives.
Giriprasad Acharya, Labor Assistant of the Nepali Embassy, told Kantipur on the phone, "The embassy is in contact with the Nepali community and the government here and is making the necessary coordination."
Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Joint Secretary Lok Bahadur Chhetri said that after receiving information about the tragic incident in Kuwait, the embassy there was instructed to remain active. "We have told them to coordinate and be in touch with the Kuwaiti government and the victims' families," he says, "Accordingly, the embassy is working accordingly." Ekraj Malla, president of the Kuwait branch of the
Journalist Federation, said that those who had consumed toxic alcohol were admitted to the hospital after falling ill. He said that the death toll may increase. He said that even though the production, transportation, sale and distribution of alcohol and drugs are completely banned in Kuwait, such tragedies have occurred because they are being used secretly.
There are millions of Nepali workers working in Gulf countries including Kuwait. Like other Gulf countries, the production and use of alcohol is completely prohibited in Kuwait. However, workers in Asian countries illegally produce and sell it domestically. Nepali workers have also been jailed on charges of alcohol consumption and distribution.
