Jaishankar expresses grief over Ras Laffan blast in Qatar, embassy says to help affected Indian families

India on 23 June expressed deep grief over the loss of life and injuries caused by an explosion in Qatar’s industrial city of Ras Laffan, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar saying authorities were closely monitoring the situation and extending assistance to the affected citizens.

In a statement to X, Jaishankar said he was “deeply saddened” by the victims, who included 12 Indian citizens. The minister said that the Indian Embassy in Qatar is in touch with the Qatari authorities and is reaching out to provide support to the families of Indians affected by the tragedy.

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“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families,” the minister said.

Twelve Indians were among 13 people killed in an explosion at a factory in the industrial city of Ras Laffan in Qatar, officials said on Monday.

“The Qatari authorities have confirmed that 12 Indian nationals have unfortunately died in an incident in Ras Laffan last night,” the Indian embassy in Doha said in a post on Monday.

An explosion at the local Barzan gas supply facility in the industrial city of Ras Laffan, operated by QatarEnergy LNG, injured 66 people, including Indians.

The Indian mission, citing Qatari authorities, said that all the injured were in a stable condition and receiving adequate medical care.

“Our embassy is working in close contact with the Qatari authorities to provide all possible assistance to Indian citizens and their families affected by this incident, including ensuring that the remains of the deceased are sent to India as soon as possible,” it added.

Qatari Energy Minister Saad bin Shreida Al-Kaabi confirmed during a press conference on Monday that 13 people of Indian and Pakistani origin had died in the incident.

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The injured are of Qatari, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Kenyan, Ghanaian, Tanzanian, Nigerian and Nepalese nationalities, according to officials.

Deeply concerned about the unfortunate incident: Indian Embassy

The Indian embassy had earlier expressed “deep concern over the unfortunate incident” in which several people were injured and some are missing.

“At this challenging and difficult time, the Embassy of India and the entire Indian community in Qatar stand in solidarity with the government and people of Qatar. We wish the injured a speedy recovery and hope and pray for the safety of the missing,” the statement said.

In a separate statement, the interior ministry said the incident was caused by a “technical malfunction” during operations that resulted in the death of 13 people and the injury of 66 others of various nationalities.

It said security authorities immediately responded to the accident in coordination with emergency response teams in Ras Laffan and implemented approved emergency procedures at the scene.

The injured were taken to medical facilities for treatment while search and response operations were completed at the scene.

The authorities are continuing their investigation to determine the exact technical causes of the accident and to establish all the circumstances of the incident.

The ministry also said that no leaks were detected as a result of the crash and that there was no threat to public safety or the surrounding environment.

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QatarEnergy previously reported that the incident occurred during the start of operations, resulting in an explosion and fire at the local Barzan gas supply facility on Sunday evening.

It said the emergency response team and Qatar Civil Defense quickly and fully extinguished the fire at the scene. Work is underway to assess the damage to Barzan and neighboring facilities.

QatarEnergy’s LNG facilities, Ras Laffan port, other logistics operations and its export capabilities remain unaffected by this explosion and fire.

A full investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the incident.

The Embassy is working… to extend all possible assistance to Indian citizens and their families affected by this incident.

Barzana production has been completely halted since December 2025 due to urgent maintenance requirements and was restarted for the first time two days before the incident, he said in a statement.