Qatar deployed search and rescue teams after an explosion at the Barzan gas facility in Ras Laffan left 54 injured and 18 missing. [Getty]
At least 54 people were injured, and 18 others remain missing after an explosion at Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City, home to the world’s largest liquefied natural gas hub.
Qatar’s Ministry of Interior said the explosion occurred on Sunday evening as a result of a technical incident at one of the facilities in the industrial zone.
The ministry later announced that the Qatari International Search and Rescue Group had been deployed to search for the missing following the incident.
In an earlier statement, the ministry said the blast resulted from a technical malfunction during operations at a factory in Ras Laffan. It added that no gas leak posing a threat to public safety had been detected and that the relevant authorities continued to deal with the situation.
QatarEnergy later identified the facility as the Barzan Gas Plant, which supplies gas for domestic consumption.
“The incident occurred due to an operational malfunction during the start-up of operations at the Barzan Gas Facility in Ras Laffan Industrial City, resulting in an explosion followed by a fire,” the company said in a statement.
Emergency response teams were immediately dispatched and succeeded in containing and extinguishing the fire before it spread to neighbouring facilities, QatarEnergy said.
Investigations are continuing to determine the cause of the incident and assess the extent of the damage.
Ras Laffan Industrial City, located around 80 kilometres north of Doha, is home to the world’s largest liquefied natural gas export facility and produces roughly one-fifth of global LNG supplies.
