One Pakistani national was killed and three others were injured in a recent explosion at a gas export terminal in Qatar, Pakistan's foreign office spokesperson said on Tuesday, marking one of the deadliest accidents at a Gulf energy facility in recent years.
Incident Details and Casualties
Qatar's interior ministry reported that a "technical incident" caused the explosion at the Ras Laffan industrial zone on Sunday night. The state-owned energy company stated that the blast occurred "during the start-up of operations at the industrial zone, which resulted in an explosion and fire at the Barzan local gas supply facility."
Qatar's energy minister confirmed on Monday that 13 people of Indian and Pakistani nationalities had been killed, while 66 others were injured in the accident.
"As per initial information, one Pakistani citizen lost his life in the incident while three others sustained injuries," Pakistan's Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told Arab News. Andrabi added that the three injured Pakistanis were discharged after receiving treatment.
Embassy Response and Plant Details
"Pakistan embassy in Doha is in touch with Qatari authorities and collecting details about Pakistani citizens," Andrabi said. The Barzan plant had a capacity of almost 1.4 billion standard cubic feet of sales gas per day, which Qatar used primarily for local electricity generation and to power its crucial water desalination plants in the desert reaches of the Arabian Peninsula.
