Qatar Confirms Indians Among 13 Killed In Blast At Gas Facility

New Delhi: Qatar confirmed on Monday that Indians were among the 13 people killed in an explosion at the Ras Laffan gas plant late Sunday night.

Announcing the losses, Qatar Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said that among the dead were citizens of India and Pakistan. “Today I find myself having to do something I always hoped would never happen: to announce the tragic loss of 13 lives of our people of Indian and Pakistani nationality,” he told reporters.

He said that 66 people were injured in the explosion that occurred during the restart of operations that were stopped after Iran’s attack in March.

QatarEnergy stated that investigations are continuing to determine the cause of the explosion and announced that the incident did not affect the country’s LNG exports. He added that gas facilities and Ras Laffan Port were operating normally.

According to media reports, the explosion followed an incident during restarting works at a domestic gas supply facility in Barzan. Authorities said emergency response teams were dispatched and the fire was brought under control.

Ras Laffan, an important center of Qatar’s energy sector, hosts major LNG production and export facilities.