Qatar LNG Factory Explosion Injures 54, Leaves 18 Missing, Authorities Say
An explosion at Qatar's main liquefied natural gas processing facility has injured 54 people and left 18 missing, according to the Ministry of Interior. The ministry attributed the incident to a technical malfunction and stated there is no leakage posing a public danger.
Qatari authorities have reported an explosion at the country's primary liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing facility in Ras Laffan Industrial City, resulting in 54 injuries and 18 people missing. The Ministry of Interior described the event as an "internal explosion" caused by a "technical malfunction."
Search and rescue teams from the Qatari International Search and Rescue Group were deployed to locate the missing individuals. The ministry did not disclose the condition of the injured but confirmed that no leakage from the facility poses a threat to public safety. Earlier, officials had stated that civil defense teams at the scene had not recorded any injuries.
QatarEnergy, which oversees the industrial hub, said emergency response units were immediately dispatched after the explosion at the Barzan plant and successfully brought the resulting fire under control. Ras Laffan Industrial City, located about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Doha, houses the world's largest LNG export facility, accounting for roughly one-fifth of global supply.
In March, the Qatari government announced that the industrial hub had sustained "significant damage" following Iranian missile and drone attacks. Subsequently, QatarEnergy invoked force majeure clauses in several contracts to relieve itself from supply obligations, affecting customers in Italy, Belgium, South Korea, and China.
