The Indian embassy, together with members of the community, led a condolence meeting last night at the Indian Cultural Centre in honour of the families and relatives of those who died in the LPG tank explosion on Thursday.

Indian ambassador Sanjiv Arora and dozens of attendees, including an official from the Nepalese embassy, observed “a moment of silence” to remember the 11 victims of the accident in one of the restaurants near the Landmark Mall in Doha’s Duhail area.

Ambassador Arora said: “Every demise, irrespective of the nationality, background or religion, is a cause for profound grief.”

He also requested the attendees to observe a moment of silence for the two navy officials who died after a submarine they were on filled with toxic smoke on Wednesday off the coast of Mumbai.

Arora also expressed his condolences to the families of the victims from the Philippines and Nepal. The 11 dead comprised five Indians, four Nepalis and two Filipinos.

Of the 35 injured, all but 10 have been discharged. The eight adults and two children comprise three Nepalis, three Pakistanis, two Filipinos, one Egyptian and one Indian.

He also thanked the efforts of the Indian Community Benevolent Fund (ICBF) and other groups for their efforts to help expatriates in various ways.

In his message, the Nepal embassy official disclosed that about 195 of his compatriots died last year in Qatar.

The United Filipino Organisations in Qatar (UFOQ) and the Philippine embassy also observed a moment of silence yesterday at a function to remember the “modern day heroes of the country” who died in the explosion. The event was part of the oath taking of UFOQ’s new set of appointed officers.

Ambassador Crescente Relacion disclosed that the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration has received a call from the Ministry of Interior expressing its willingness to help families of the victims.

In a statement issued after the monthly Open House yesterday, the Indian embassy said it is in active contact with all concerned for the transportation of the mortal remains of the deceased to their respective native places in India.

Urgent consular and labour issues or cases of Indian nationals in Qatar were discussed. Arora and other officials met all the complainants, discussed their problems and assured them that the embassy will actively follow up their cases with the concerned authorities. Kareem Abdulla, president, ICBF, was also present.

An embassy team also visited the central prison and the deportation centre last week to meet with the detainees from India. The total number of Indian nationals in the central prison and the deportation centre currently is 64 and 138, respectively.

The labour and community welfare section of the embassy received a total of 578 complaints during the first two months of 2014. A total of 20 deaths were registered in the embassy in February and the total number of deaths
registered so far this year is 44.

The embassy issued 10 emergency certificates in February 2014 for the detainees in the deportation centre. Three tickets were also issued in February to facilitate the deportation of Indian nationals who could not bear their travel
expenses.

 

 

 

 

Related Story