Explosion at Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG hub leaves 54 injured, 18 missing as search continues
Authorities in Qatar say an explosion at the Ras Laffan Industrial City liquefied natural gas facility has injured at least 54 people and left 18 others missing. The blast occurred at the Barzan factory, part of the country's main LNG processing hub, and prompted an emergency response from rescue and firefighting teams. Officials said the fire at the site has now been brought under control.
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The Ministry of Interior said the incident was caused by an internal explosion linked to a technical malfunction. It said the Qatari International Search and Rescue Group had been deployed to carry out search operations for those still unaccounted for. The ministry also said there was no leakage from the facility that would pose a danger to public safety, while earlier civil defence teams had not recorded any injuries when they first responded.
QatarEnergy said emergency response teams were immediately sent to the scene after the blast. The company said the fire was brought under control at the facility, which sits about 80km north of Doha. Ras Laffan Industrial City is home to the world's largest LNG export facility and produces about one-fifth of global supply, making any disruption there closely watched by energy markets and customers.
The incident matters because Ras Laffan is central to Qatar's economy and its role in global gas trade. The hub has already faced disruption this year, after the Qatari government said in March that it had sustained significant damage following Iranian missile and drone attacks. QatarEnergy later invoked force majeure in some contracts, affecting customers in Italy, Belgium, South Korea and China, underlining how sensitive supply from the site can be to security incidents.
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The latest blast also raises fresh questions about industrial safety at a facility that is critical to both domestic operations and international exports. The reported technical malfunction suggests the focus will be on the restart or operating conditions at the Barzan plant, although officials have not yet given a detailed technical explanation. The scale of the injuries and the number of missing people indicate the seriousness of the event, even as the fire itself is now under control.
What remains unclear is the condition of those injured, whether the missing people have been found, and how much damage the facility sustained. Officials have not said how long any repairs may take or whether production has been affected. The next updates are likely to centre on the search operation, the investigation into the cause, and any impact on LNG output and exports.
An explosion has hit Qatar's natural gas export hub in Ras Laffan Industrial City, leaving at least 54 people injured and 18 others reported missing. The blast struck the Barzan gas supply facility late on Sunday while work was under way to restart operations. A major fire followed, sending thick smoke into the night sky and prompting an emergency response from rescue and firefighting teams.
State-owned QatarEnergy said the explosion happened during restart work at the facility, which had been suspended during the Iran-Qatar crisis. Officials initially indicated only a small number of injuries, but the Interior Ministry later confirmed the higher toll. The ministry said 54 people were hurt and 18 remained unaccounted for for several hours after the blast.
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The extent of damage to the facility was not immediately disclosed. The incident is significant because the Barzan facility sits within Ras Laffan Industrial City, a key centre for Qatar's gas export industry. Any disruption there can affect not only local operations but also wider confidence in the country's energy infrastructure.
The fire and search operation also underline the risks involved in bringing major industrial sites back online after a suspension. Qatar's gas sector is central to the country's economy and to its role in global energy markets. The Barzan facility is part of that wider system, and the blast comes at a time when industrial safety and continuity of supply are under close scrutiny.
The fact that the explosion occurred during restart work adds to concerns about the complexity of restoring operations after a period of shutdown. The reported suspension linked to the Iran-Qatar crisis provides important context for the timing of the restart. That background suggests the facility had been out of operation for a period before workers attempted to bring it back into service.
In that setting, the blast raises questions about the condition of the site, the restart process and the safeguards in place for workers. What remains unclear is the cause of the explosion, the full scale of the damage and whether the missing people have since been found. Officials have not yet given a detailed account of how the blast began or how long repairs may take.
The next developments are likely to focus on the search operation, the condition of the injured and any assessment of the impact on gas production and exports.
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