At least 54 people have been injured and 18 yet-to-be-found following an explosion which occurred in Qatar’s Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas complex following a rescheduled operation at the facility.
Authorities disclosed that the explosion caught-up with the building’s windows, rattling it forcing emergency calls to emergency rescuers, who came into the scene who rescued no fewer than 54 victims who are now under medical care.
The Interior Ministry held that the blast, which happened late hour, yesterday, was felt across central Doha, 70 kilometers from Ras Laffan, but added that the incident only affected the facility.
It added that a search is ongoing to locate the whereabouts of the missing persons, as the fire has now been placed under control by the emergency rescuers.
The Barzan gas facility has a capacity of 1.4billion cubic feet per day and supplies pipeline gas to local industries and Qatar’s power generation sector.
It can also produce ethane, condensate, liquefied petroleum gas, and sulphur for domestic and export markets.
Ras Laffan, where it is located, is QatarEnergy’s primary site for LNG production and export with a total production capacity of 77million metric tons per annum via 14 trains.