Qatar’s interior ministry said that an explosion resulting from a “technical accident” at a factory in Ras Laffan, an industrial city north of the capital Doha and site of the country’s core LNG processing operations, left over 50 people injured on Sunday. “The total number of injured in the incident that occurred at one of the factories in the Ras Laffan Industrial Area has reached 54, while the Qatari International Search and Rescue Group affiliated with the Internal Security Force, in cooperation with the Civil Defence teams, has launched search operations for 18 missing persons,” a post on the ministry’s X account said hours after the incident was initially reported. In an earlier post, the ministry said there was no leak that “threatens safety”.