Qatar says gas export terminal blast killed 13 as workers tried to resume operations

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An detonation tore done Qatar's cardinal earthy state export terminal Sunday nighttime arsenic workers tried to resume operations aft Iran bombed it during the war, causing a occurrence that killed astatine slightest 13 radical and wounded 66 others.

The blast astatine the Ras Laffan concern country could origin further chaos successful planetary vigor markets, arsenic Qatar remains 1 of the world's apical earthy state producers. Qatar unopen down its accumulation aft Iran's grip connected the Strait of Hormuz meant it couldn't get shipments retired to clients.

With Iran loosening its grip arsenic negotiations proceed implicit a imperishable extremity to the war, Qatar began enactment to effort to restart its export terminal. That sparked the detonation and occurrence astatine the Barzan state proviso facility, state-run QatarEnergy said.

“I would similar to stress that this was an mishap and not sabotage oregon hostile successful nature," Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi told a quality league Monday day successful Doha, Qatar’s capital.

The curate gave the toll and said the dormant came from India and Pakistan. The nationalities of the 66 injured included radical from Qatar and a assortment of African and Asian nations, al-Kaabi said.

The standard of the harm remains unknown.

The Barzan works had a capableness of astir 1.4 cardinal modular cubic feet of income state per day, which Qatar utilized chiefly for section energy procreation and to powerfulness its important h2o desalination plants successful the godforsaken reaches of the Arabian Peninsula.

Qatar owns astir each of the plant, with a tiny stock besides held by ExxonMobil. The lipid institution did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

In March, an Iranian rocket deed Ras Laffan, sparking a occurrence that caused “extensive” harm earlier it was extinguished, authorities said. Qatar had already halted accumulation determination due to the fact that of Iranian attacks.

Qatar shares its monolithic offshore earthy state tract successful the Persian Gulf with Iran. That earthy state accumulation has made Qatar wealthy. It has utilized that wealth to rise its illustration worldwide done hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup, creating the Al Jazeera quality web and backing its enactment arsenic an planetary mediator, including the talks successful Switzerland betwixt Iran and the United States.

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