At least 54 people were injured and 18 others missing after an explosion in Qatar while the country was restarting its natural gas production after a shutdown during the Iran war, the Qatari authorities and the state energy company said.
The blast late on Sunday was caused by a technical malfunction at a plant at Ras Laffan Industrial City, the Qatari Interior Ministry said in a statement on social media, emphasizing that no leaks were reported. Ras Laffan is the main site in Qatar for producing liquefied natural gas, the resource that underpins the country’s economy.
QatarEnergy, the state energy company, said on social media that the explosion and fire had occurred at a local gas supply facility “during the start-up of operations” at Ras Laffan.
Rescue teams are still searching for those missing, the Interior Ministry said.
Qatar, a small peninsula that juts into the Persian Gulf, is one of the world’s largest exporters of liquefied natural gas. The country shuttered gas production in the early days of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, sending shock waves through energy markets. In March, an Iranian missile and drone attack caused significant damage to facilities at Ras Laffan, and Qatari officials announced that restoring full production capacity could take years.
The United States and Iran reached a preliminary agreement to end the war last week. Qatar was an important mediator in the negotiations to reach that deal.
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