The incident was reported to authorities at 6am local time, major-general Eid Rashed Hamad said.

“The building in which the fire occurred was used to house workers, and there was a large number of workers there. Dozens were rescued, but unfortunately there were many deaths as a result of inhaling smoke from the fire,” another senior police commander told state TV.

“We always alert and warn against” cramming too many workers into housing accommodation, he said, without providing details on the workers’ type of employment or place of origin.

The Kuwaiti health ministry said about 43 people were hospitalised due to the fire, and four of those had died.

It wasn’t clear if the four fatalities were in addition to the 35 reported by police.

The authorities said they had contained the fire and were investigating what caused it.