Qatar factory explosion at LNG site leaves 54 injured, 18 missing

Interior ministry described incident as an internal explosion.

Fifty-four people were injured and 18 others were missing after an explosion at Qatar’s core LNG processing site of Ras Laffan on Sunday, authorities said.

QatarEnergy said a blast and fire happened at the Barzan gas facility during the start-up of operations in Ras Laffan Industrial City on Sunday evening. Emergency teams were sent to control the fire, which is now under control.

The Interior Ministry said 54 people were injured and 18 are still missing, and search operations are ongoing. It said the explosion was caused by a “technical accident” and confirmed there is no gas leak that threatens public safety.

Officials also said the Qatari International Search and Rescue Group, along with civil defence teams, is continuing efforts to find the missing people.

The interior ministry described the incident as an “internal explosion”, adding in a later statement that a “technical malfunction” was to blame.

The total number of injured persons in the incident that occurred at a factory in Ras Laffan Industrial City has reached (54). The Qatar International Search and Rescue Group of the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya), in cooperation with Civil Defence teams, is conducting search…

— Ministry of Interior – Qatar (@MOI_QatarEn) June 22, 2026

It added that 54 people were injured at a factory in Ras Laffan Industrial City and search operations for the 18 missing continue.

QatarEnergy did not say if the plant itself was damaged. The plant supplies gas to the domestic market.

A Reuters reporter said a loud blast was heard in Doha, which is located south of Ras Laffan.

Ras Laffan had already suffered heavy damage during the US-Iran war, when Iranian strikes targeted energy facilities in the Gulf and forced Qatar to stop gas production.

Qatar, one of the world’s largest LNG producers along with the US, Australia, and Russia, stopped LNG production on March 2 after Iranian drone attacks hit important facilities.

Further attacks on March 18 are expected to reduce LNG export capacity by 17% and may take three to five years to repair, according to Energy Minister Saad Al-Kaabi at that time.