Qatar's Energy Minister said Monday that 13 people were killed and 66 wounded in an explosion Sunday at the Ras Laffan gas facility, describing the incident as an accident with no suspected foul play. The toll is a dramatic increase from earlier reports, as The Zioneer reported overnight of at least 54 wounded and 18 missing.
Qatar's Energy Minister confirmed Monday that Sunday's explosion at the Ras Laffan gas plant killed 13 workers and wounded 66 others, calling the incident an accident with no suspicion of sabotage or attack. The statement was issued at about 16:00 Jerusalem, roughly 18 hours after the initial blast, and marks the fourth official revision of the casualty toll in less than a day.
The toll is a major upward revision from earlier reports. As The Zioneer reported at 06:41 Monday, Qatar's Interior Ministry had stated early Monday that at least 54 people were wounded and 18 missing. That report itself was an escalation from Sunday's initial claims: at 22:49 Jerusalem on Sunday, Qatari authorities said an internal explosion at the same site had caused no casualties. The first reports at 22:49 described only a "large fire" with no details on injuries. Over the course of an hour, the account shifted from a fire with no casualties to an internal blast described as a "technical malfunction," then to multiple explosions, and finally to the 54-wounded, 18-missing figure. The Energy Minister's Monday statement is the first official confirmation of fatalities.
The Ras Laffan facility is among the world's largest natural gas processing plants. The minister's statement definitively ruled out hostile action, but the cause of the explosion has not yet been specified.
The precise cause of the explosion and the identities of the deceased and wounded have not been released.
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