Qatar LNG explosion reports said 54 people were injured and 18 were missing after a blast and fire at Ras Laffan Industrial City on Sunday evening. Authorities said this information.
QatarEnergy said the incident occurred during the start-up of operations at the Barzan local gas supply facility. The company said emergency teams contained the fire.
Qatar’s Interior Ministry said the explosion resulted from a “technical accident.” It said there was no leak that posed a public safety threat.
The ministry said the Qatari International Search and Rescue Group was working with civil defence teams to find the 18 missing people. It later described the cause as a “technical malfunction.”
QatarEnergy did not say whether the blast damaged the plant, which supplies gas to Qatar’s domestic market.
A Reuters witness said a loud boom was heard in Doha, Qatar’s capital, south of Ras Laffan.
Ras Laffan had already suffered damage during the U.S.-Iran war. During that time, Iranian strikes targeted Gulf energy infrastructure and forced Qatar to halt gas production.
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Qatar, a Gulf state in the Middle East, ranks among the world’s major liquefied natural gas producers. It shares this status with the United States, Australia and Russia.
Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad Al-Kaabi said earlier damage from the March 18 attacks was expected to cut LNG export capacity by 17%. Moreover, he said it would take three to five years to repair.
