Massive Explosion at Qatar Gas Facility Injures 54, Leaves 18 Missing

A massive explosion rocked the Ras Laffan industrial area in Qatar, injuring 54 people and leaving 18 missing. Authorities are describing the incident as a 'technical event' at a local gas facility and stress that it stemmed from internal issues. However, the timing is concerning due to ongoing regional tensions that have previously impacted Qatar’s vital liquefied natural gas operations, with smoke and flames seen for miles around.

Qatar said at least 54 people were injured and 18 others remain missing after an explosion at a factory in the Ras Laffan industrial zone, Reuters reported citing the interior ministry.

Authorities described the incident as a “technical incident” that triggered an explosion on Sunday in one of the factories in the northern industrial hub.

“An internal explosion occurred in one of the factories in the Ras Laffan Industrial Area following a technical incident,” the interior ministry said, according to AFP.

“Civil defence teams have begun handling the incident,” it added after journalists in Doha reported hearing a loud blast.

In a later update, the ministry said a “technical malfunction” had “led to a number of injuries”, without specifying the scale or severity at the time.

An AFP journalist positioned about 20 kilometres south of Ras Laffan reported seeing flames lighting up the night sky, along with a large plume of smoke rising from the industrial zone, which hosts the world’s largest liquefied natural gas facilities.

State-owned QatarEnergy said the explosion occurred “during the start-up of operations at Ras Laffan Industrial City, which resulted in an explosion and fire at Barzan local gas supply facility”.

While officials stressed the blast was caused by an internal technical issue, Ras Laffan has already faced disruption in recent months due to wider regional conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran.

During that period, Iranian attacks targeted energy infrastructure across the Gulf, including facilities linked to Ras Laffan, forcing temporary shutdowns in Qatar’s gas production.

The country, one of the world’s top liquefied natural gas exporters alongside the United States, Australia and Russia, had halted LNG production on March 2 after Iranian drone strikes hit key facilities.

Further damage reported on March 18 was expected to reduce LNG export capacity by around 17 percent, with full repairs projected to take three to five years, Qatar’s energy minister Saad Al-Kaabi had said earlier.