Family and friends across India completed funeral ceremonies for 12 men killed in an explosion at Qatar’s main liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing facility last week.
The Indian embassy in Doha confirmed in a post on X that it had repatriated the bodies of all Indian workers who died in the Ras Laffan blast.
A total of 13 men, including one Pakistani national, were killed, and more than 60 injured during start-up operations of the world’s largest LNG refinery on June 21.
The 12 men from India included three from southern Tamil Nadu state, two each from Gujarat and Bihar states and one each from Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Daman and Diu, Indian officials told The National.
Most of the 35 Indian workers among those injured have been discharged from hospital after treatment. The Indian community is the largest expatriate group in Qatar, with more than 830,000 members.
Grieving family
Friends joined relatives to bid farewell at funeral ceremonies in states across India over the past week.
In Kerala, former colleagues paid their last respects on Friday to Kalariyullathil Arjun, 30, who worked as a mechanical engineer and co-ordinator at the Qatar plant.
“His family is in shock, they are in a lot of pain and grief,” said Shyam Koroth, 62, a colleague who retired last year and lives in a town bordering Mr Arjun’s hometown in Kozhikode district.
“Arjun always had a smile, he was quiet and kept to himself. He was a very good person and had a strong character.”
The Kerala native was married over a year ago and is survived by his wife, parents and younger sister. His father is a tailor who runs a small shop in their hometown.
“When I retired from the gas company, Arjun was there to see me off,” Mr Koroth said. “His family depended on him. His loss is deeply felt. He will be missed by his family, his friends and by a lot of people in the town.”
Shabeer Ali, Mr Arjun’s colleague in Qatar, described him as a good worker.
“He was working on the night shift when the blast happened,” Mr Ali said. “He was a hard worker, a good person and mostly quiet. This is a disaster for his family. He had just got married and was so happy. Yes, it is fate and everybody has a time to leave this world, but this is very difficult for the family.”
Mr Ali described how the impact of the blast was felt across areas of Doha, including his residence, which is more than 30km away from the site.
“It was like someone was shaking the door really hard. I was in my accommodation and I felt someone kept shaking the door. I went out to check but there was nobody there,” he said.
Accident not sabotage
Qatar’s Energy Ministry said the June 21 explosion was an accident and not the result of sabotage or due to any hostile act.
The Ras Laffan refinery was hit by Iranian missile strikes in March, which destroyed parts of the complex, which before the war supplied one fifth of global LNG supply. Work on the plant had resumed only two days before the explosion, the Energy Ministry had said.
The government said the injured were receiving treatment and were not in a critical condition. The injured men are citizens of Qatar, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria and Nepal.
QatarEnergy, the plant operator, said an investigation is under way to determine the cause of the blast.
