At least 54 people were injured and 18 others remained missing after an explosion and fire broke out at Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City on Sunday, according to Qatari authorities. Emergency teams were deployed to the site and later brought the blaze under control.

The incident occurred during the start-up of operations at the Barzan local gas supply facility, a key installation within Qatar’s primary liquefied natural gas production hub. Authorities described the explosion as a technical accident and said there was no threat to public safety.

Explosion Occurred During Start-Up Operations

QatarEnergy said in a statement that the blast and subsequent fire took place on Sunday evening at the Barzan gas facility located in Ras Laffan Industrial City.

Emergency response teams were immediately mobilised to contain the fire, which has since been brought under control.

The company did not specify whether the explosion had caused damage to the plant or affected operations at the facility.

Qatar’s Interior Ministry said 54 people had sustained injuries and search teams were continuing efforts to locate 18 people reported missing.

Facility Supplies Gas to Domestic Market

The Barzan gas facility has a production capacity of 1.4 billion cubic feet of gas per day and supplies pipeline gas to local industries as well as Qatar’s electricity generation sector.

In addition to natural gas, the plant also produces ethane, condensate, liquefied petroleum gas and sulphur for both domestic consumption and export markets.

Ras Laffan Industrial City serves as QatarEnergy’s main liquefied natural gas production and export centre.

The complex has a total LNG production capacity of 77 million metric tonnes annually across 14 processing trains.

Incident Comes Amid Previous Damage to Energy Infrastructure

A Reuters witness earlier reported hearing a loud explosion in the Qatari capital Doha, located south of the Ras Laffan facility.

The latest incident comes after two of Qatar’s LNG trains and one of its two gas-to-liquids facilities suffered damage during strikes linked to the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

Those attacks knocked out around 17 per cent of Qatar’s LNG export capacity, with repairs expected to take several years.

Authorities have not indicated whether the latest explosion will have any impact on the country’s energy supplies or export operations.

Investigations into the cause of the incident are expected to continue as rescue teams search for those still missing.

Long or Short, get news the way you like. No ads. No redirections. Download Newspin and Stay Alert, The CSR Journal Mobile app, for fast, crisp, clean updates!

App Store –  https://apps.apple.com/in/app/newspin/id6746449540 

Google Play Store – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.inventifweb.newspin&pcampaignid=web_share