MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed on Tuesday that there are no Filipino nationals in the list of confirmed fatalities and injuries in an explosion in Qatar’s biggest gas facility.
According to the DFA, the Embassy in Doha is closely monitoring the situation in Ras Laffan Industrial Zone, where the explosion happened inside the Barzan Local Gas Processing Facility.
The Embassy is also coordinating with local authorities for updates.
“According to Philippine Ambassador Mardomel Celo D. Melicor, there are no Filipinos involved,” DFA told reporters.
“As of 23 June 2026, there are no Filipino nationals included in the list of confirmed fatalities and injuries. The Embassy continues to monitor the situation and coordinate with local authorities for relevant updates,” DFA added.
The explosion, which killed 13 people, is considered “one of the deadliest gas industry accidents” in more than two decades, Qatar’s energy minister said on Monday, according to a Reuters report.
Authorities said a "technical accident" occurred at the Barzan local gas processing facility on Sunday evening. Plant production had been completely stopped since December 2025 due to urgent maintenance requirements and it was first restarted only two days ago, Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said.
The people killed were Indian and Pakistani, he added.
At least 13 people were killed and dozens injured in an explosion at a gas processing facility inside Qatar's massive Ras Laffan industrial complex, Qatar's energy minister said on Monday (June 22) / Screengrab courtesy of REUTERS
The last comparable disaster was a 2004 explosion at Algeria's Skikda LNG complex that killed 27 people. None of the 66 people reported injured and receiving medical treatment after the Barzan explosion was in a life-threatening condition, Kaabi mentioned.
QatarEnergy has started a full investigation into the cause of the accident, which Kaabi stressed was not sabotage or hostile in nature and posed no risk to the environment.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy in Doha extended the country’s message of condolences and sympathies to those affected by the explosion.
“The Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in the State of Qatar conveys its condolences and sympathies to those affected by the Ras Laffan incident on 21 June 2026 that claimed the lives of 13 individuals and left others injured,” the statement read.
“Our thoughts are with the families who are grieving the untimely loss of their loved ones, and we wish a swift and full recovery to those who were injured,” the statement added.
Courtesy of Department of Foreign Affairs / Philippine Embassy in the State of Qatar
(With reporting by Andrew Mills, Menna Alaa El-Din, Ahmed Tolba and Marwa Rashad; additional reporting by Nayera Abdallah, Tala Ramadan, and Emily Chow; writing by Maha El Dahan and Marwa Rashad; editing by Jason Neely and Nia Williams / REUTERS)
