At least 13 people have died and 66 others have been injured in the massive explosion that rocked the “Barzan“ gas facility in the industrial city of Ras Laffan, thenationalnews.com reported.
Rescue teams have officially called off the search for survivors under the rubble after the bodies of all those reported missing were found.
Qatar's Energy Minister, Saad al-Kaab, confirmed that the incident was internal and caused by a technical failure. The explosion occurred on Sunday evening during start-up operations following a planned repair. The facility was previously temporarily suspended due to military tensions in the region and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
The victims are foreign workers
According to official data from diplomatic missions, 12 citizens of India and one of Pakistan were among the dead. The 66 injured people were hospitalized without life-threatening injuries. Among them are workers from Bangladesh, Rwanda and Qatar.
No environmental hazard and market tremors
The state-owned company QatarEnergy announced that there was no leak of toxic gases and no danger to the population. The “Barzan“ base supplies mainly the domestic market and local desalination plants, which means that Qatar's capacity to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) remains completely unaffected. A special government commission is investigating the incident on site.