Fifteen oil workers have been killed in a head-on collision between two buses in southern Kuwait on Sunday 1 April 2018. The dead are reported to include seven Indian nationals, five Egyptians and three Pakistanis. A further two Indians and a Kuwaiti have been rushed to a local hospital following the incident, with one of the Indians described as being in a critical condition. Fire fighters are still trying to release another four people from the wreckage; it is unclear what their condition is at this time. All of those in the accident were employees of Burgan Drilling, a private contractor carrying out work for the state-owned Kuwait Oil Company in the Burgan Oil Field.
The remains of a bus involved in a head-on collision in southern Kuwait on 1 April 2018. Khaleej Times/Instagram.
Kuwait is heavily reliant on the labour of migrant workers, who make up about two thirds of the population. Like other nations in the region, it has come under heavy criticism over the poor treatment of such workers in the past, though unlike most of its neighbours it does appear to have taken some steps to remedy this, introducing a minimum wage for migrant workers (US$440 per month), prosecuting individuals and companies accused of mistreating migrant employees, and allowing foreign human rights organisations to monitor the situation from within the country.
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