New Delhi, June 14 (IANS): A special Air Force aircraft carrying the mortal remains of 45 Indians, who died in a devastating fire on June 12, took off from Kuwait early Friday morning and will first land in Kerala's Kochi and then leave for Delhi.

Union Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh, who had rushed to Kuwait, is also returning in the same aircraft.

"A special IAF aircraft carrying mortal remains of 45 Indian victims in the fire incident in Kuwait has taken off for Kochi. MoS @KVSinghMPGonda, who coordinated with Kuwaiti authorities ensuring swift repatriation, is onboard the aircraft," said the Indian embassy in Kuwait.

Ambulances have been kept on standby at the Cochin airport where the plane will land.

A massive fire erupted in a six-storey building in Kuwait's Mangaf city on Wednesday, killing at least 49 people.

The embassy said that 176 Indian workers were in the housing facility, 45 of them died and 33 were hospitalised.

The victims include 23 from Kerala, seven from Tamil Nadu, three each from Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, two from Odisha, and one each from Bihar, Punjab, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Haryana.