An explosion and fire occurred on the evening of June 21, 2026, at the Barzan local gas supply facility in Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City during startup operations after a lengthy shutdown [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. Emergency teams responded immediately and brought the fire under control [1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9]. Authorities confirmed there was no leak threatening safety or the environment [1, 10, 3, 5, 8, 9].

The blast and fire injured 54 people and left 18 others missing [1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8]. At least 13 people died in the explosion, all Indian and Pakistani nationals, according to multiple sources [11, 2, 12, 7]. However, some sources report no deaths, only injuries and missing personnel [1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8]. The Indian Embassy in Doha extended its "deepest condolences to the families of those who have unfortunately passed away" [12].

Qatar's Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi said the explosion was an accident, "not sabotage or hostile in nature" [2]. He added, "QatarEnergy LNG facilities, Ras Laffan port and other logistical operations... remain unaffected as a result of this explosion and fire and that will not affect in any way our export capabilities" [7].

The Barzan facility supplies pipeline gas to local industries and power generators and produces products such as ethane and liquefied petroleum gas [6, 7]. Production at Ras Laffan had been halted since December 2025 for urgent maintenance and was further disrupted by Iranian missile and drone attacks in March 2026, which damaged part of the facility [11, 2, 12, 5, 6, 7]. The plant restarted operations on June 19, 2026, just two days before the explosion [2, 12, 7].

Ras Laffan Industrial City hosts Qatar’s primary LNG export facility, which produces about 20% of the global seaborne LNG supply, with a pre-March capacity of 77 million metric tonnes per year [11, 2, 5, 6, 7]. Damage from earlier strikes had already reduced LNG output by 17% [6, 7].

The rescue and investigation efforts continue, as authorities account for the missing workers and assess the causes. Qatar has pledged to provide updates on the situation.