ISLAMABAD: One Pakistani national was killed while three others were injured in a recent explosion at a gas export terminal in Qatar, Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson said on Tuesday about one of the deadliest accidents at a Gulf energy facility in recent years.
Qatar’s interior ministry said a “technical incident” caused the explosion at the Ras Laffan industrial zone on Sunday night. Qatar’s state-owned energy company said 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 said on Monday that 13 people of Indian and Pakistani nationalities had been killed in the accident, while 66 were injured.
“As per initial information, one Pakistani citizen lost his life in the incident while three other sustained injuries,” Pakistan’s Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told Arab News.
Andrabi said the three Pakistanis who were injured in the accident were discharged after treatment.
“Pakistan embassy in Doha is in touch with Qatari authorities and collecting details about Pakistani citizens,” he 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.
With additional input from AP
