***UPDATED***

Kuwaiti police investigating the fatal wedding fire in which 43 women and children were killed have said the groom’s ex-wife has confessed, AP reports.

The independent Al-Qabas daily said the groom’s former wife, who is 23 years old, poured gasoline on the tent and lit it because she felt her ex-husband mistreated her when they were married

The victims were entirely women and children because of the traditional gender segregation at wedding parties.

BBC reports that police are using forensics to help identify the bodies, as many were burned beyond recognition in the blaze.

The fire had killed 41 people within three minutes.

“It was a horrific scene with bodies and many shoes stuck to the ground at the only exit, they must have trampled over one another,” said Brig. Gen. Jassem al-Mansouri, the day after the disaster.

Officials said that the tent had only one exit and the upholstery and the stuffing of the chairs used was highly flammable.

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Kuwait Wedding Fire Kills 41 Women And Children In 3 Minutes

KUWAIT CITY – The fire at a wedding tent in Kuwait that killed 41 women and children consumed the structure in a blazing inferno lasting just three minutes, the fire department chief said Sunday.

“It was a horrific scene with bodies and many shoes stuck to the ground at the only exit, they must have trampled over one another,” said Brig. Gen. Jassem al-Mansouri, the day after the disaster.

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By DIANA ELIAS, Associated Press Writer
Video from Reuters

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