13 migrant workers die and dozens injured—including Nepalis—in Qatar gas plant restart blister

June 23, Kathmandu: A massive industrial explosion at the Barzan local gas supply facility within Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City has left thirteen foreign workers dead and sixty-six others injured, with confirmed reports that multiple Nepali migrant labourers are among the wounded.

The powerful blast occurred late Sunday evening as technical teams attempted to restart operations at the processing plant, which had been shut down for routine maintenance since December of last year.

Official manifests released by Qatar’s Ministry of Energy confirm that no Nepali nationals lost their lives in the disaster. The thirteen fatalities include twelve Indian citizens and one Pakistani national.

While the injured manifest spans multiple nationalities—including workers from Nepal, Bangladesh, and India—medical authorities in Doha emphasized that none of the Nepali workers sustained life-threatening trauma, and all are currently in stable condition receiving specialized hospital care.

A high-level formal investigation has been launched by state authorities to determine the precise mechanical failure that triggered the explosion.

Government officials, including Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, emphasized that the incident was a technical accident rather than an act of sabotage, and confirmed that the localized damage at the Barzan unit has not disrupted Qatar’s broader liquefied natural gas export capabilities or domestic energy distribution.