An explosion caused by a technical incident has struck a factory in Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City, authorities said, resulting in several injuries but with no dangerous leak reported.
In a statement, the Interior Ministry said civil defence teams immediately responded to the explosion and were handling the situation.
The ministry added that the incident resulted from a technical fault during operation at one of the factories in the industrial zone, and led to a number of injuries.
Following up on the incident, the Ministry of Interior stated on its official social media channel: "Further to the above, the incident resulted from a technical fault during operation at one of the factories in the Ras Laffan Industrial Area, and resulted in a number of injuries, without any leakage posing a danger to the safety of individuals, while the competent authorities continue to deal with the incident."
Loud boom heard
Ras Laffan is the site of the country's core LNG processing operations.
Earlier, a Reuters witness reported hearing a loud boom in the Qatari capital, Doha.
The precise circumstances behind the technical malfunction at the industrial plant were not immediately clear, while the competent authorities continue to handle the incident on-site.
Ras Laffan hub had already been damaged in the recent war between the US, Israel and Iran, forcing Qatar to halt gas production.
Qatar is one of the world’s leading liquefied natural gas producers alongside the US, Australia and Russia, halted LNG production on March 2 after drone strikes hit key facilities.
Further damage from attacks on March 18 was expected to cut LNG export capacity by 17 percent and take three to five years to repair, Qatar Energy Minister Saad Al-Kaabi said at the time.
