As many as 54 people were injured, and 18 people are missing after an explosion in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar’s main LNG processing center, on Sunday.
According to the Qatari administration, a technical accident at Ras Laffan Industrial City first caused an explosion and then a large-scale fire. The company said in a statement that “emergency teams were immediately dispatched to the scene and the fire was brought under control after a short time.”
The Qatari Interior Ministry said in a statement that 54 people were injured and 18 people are missing, for whom the search is ongoing. According to the ministry, the explosion was caused by a “technical accident” and did not result in any gas release that would pose a threat to public safety.
The Ministry of Interior added that the Qatari International Search and Rescue Group is conducting searches for missing people in cooperation with civil defense teams. Qatar Energy did not say whether the explosion caused any damage to the plant, which supplies gas to Qatar’s domestic market.
A witness told Reuters that the loud sound of the explosion was also heard in the capital, Doha, located south of the Ras Laffan facility.
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