12 Indians among 13 killed in Qatar gas plant blast; accident says minister

DOHA: Twelve Indians were among the 13 people killed in an explosion at a gas processing plant in the Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar, officials said on Monday.“Qatari authorities have confirmed that 12 Indian nationals have unfortunately passed away in the Ras Laffan incident yesterday night,” the Indian Embassy in Doha said in a post on X. The Gulf state’s energy minister Saad al-Kaabi said 66 people who have been reported injured are receiving medical treatment, none of whom are in life-threatening condition. . Authorities are investigating the cause of the incident, which the energy minister said was “an accident and not sabotage or hostile in nature”, after Iranian attacks targeted energy facilities in the Gulf during the war. Earlier, the interior ministry had said a “technical incident” caused the explosion late on Sunday in the Gulf emirate’s Ras Laffan industrial zone.Qatar’s state-owned energy company, QatarEnergy, said the blast occurred “during the start-up of operations at Ras Laffan Industrial City, which resulted in an explosion and fire at Barzan gas supply facility”. Ras Laffan had already been badly damaged in the US-Iran war as Iranian strikes targeted Gulf energy infrastructure and forced Qatar to halt gas production.The India embassy said it is in constant touch with Qatari authorities and will render all help to the families of those who have lost their lives or have been injured.

The blast reverberated across Doha, and was heard at least 64 km away.People from Pak, Nepal, B’desh among injuredThe injured were from several countries, including India, Qatar, Tanzania, Pakistan, Guinea, Nepal, Bangladesh, Kenya and Nigeria, local media reported. Late Sunday, QatarEnergy said the fire had been brought under control.The deadly accident comes as hyrdocarbon-rich Gulf nations face challenges in boosting their output following Iranian attacks and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the export of oil and gas.

Kaabi said the status of the Strait and attacks on Gulf nations remained a “geopolitical, military issue” drawing a line between Sunday’s explosion which he said was “different”. “We have to take it in stride and move on and learn from it,” the minister added.Earlier Qatar’s interior ministry described Sunday’s incident as an “internal explosion”, adding in a later statement that a “technical malfunction” was to blame.According to QatarEnergy, the Barzan facility could previously provide 1.4 billion standard cubic feet of sales gas per day to local power generation and water desalination plants as well as local industries. In addition, Barzan has the production capacity to supply ethane, condensate, LPG and sulphur for local markets and export.ExxonMobil holds a 7% share of the Barzan plant, with the Qatari state firm holding the remaining 93%, according to the US oil and gas giant’s website.