Gas tank on the roof of the outlet explodes

11 die in restaurant blast February 28, 2014 - 5:27:47 am Ministry sets up probe committee At least 11 people were killed and 35 injured, including a woman and a child, in a huge gas tank explosion in a Turkish restaurant in a petrol station complex behind the Landmark Mall yesterday morning. All the dead were Asians, including five Indians, four Nepalese and two Filipinos. The (Istanbul) restaurant building collapsed under the impact of the explosion, which led to the high casualties, the Ministry of Interior said. The cause of the blast was not immediately known. The tank belonged to Woqod. A Woqod official claimed that there was no safety lapse on the part of the company and the tank involved had been properly inspected. The Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani is briefed at the site of the explosion. The Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani visited the site. The Interior Ministry announced the formation of a special committee to investigate the incident. The panel comprises representatives from the ministry, Lekhwiya and Woqod. The blast at 10.12am was the second major incident in Qatar after a fire in Villaggio Mall killed 19 people in 2012. The fatalities yesterday included seven employees of the neighbouring Tasty restaurant, which was also damaged. In a statement, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) said 11 people were killed and 35 injured. The toll was confirmed by the ministry. “Thirty-five patients are being treated at Hamad General Hospital, one of them is in a critical condition, the others are stable,” HMC said. Among those receiving treatment include two female patients — a woman and a child. Those remaining admitted at the hospital include one Qatari, 12 Indians, nine Nepalese, five Pakistanis, two from the Philippines, two from Egypt and one each from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Yemen and Tunisia, said HMC. Public Security Director General Staff Major General Saad bin Jassim Al Khulaifi told a press conference in the afternoon that the victims were restaurant staff and customers as well as passers-by. Shrapnel after the explosion scattered 50 meters away. The blast led to a small fire, which was contained swiftly, he said. He added that the deaths occurred due to the explosion rather than a resulting “limited” fire. Preliminary investigations suggested a gas tank on the roof of a Turkish food restaurant and gas cylinders on neighbouring roofs had exploded, the Qatar News Agency reported. Three fire control units, including 15 multifunctional vehicles, were dispatched to the spot. Civil Defence personnel arrived eight minutes after the incident was reported, said Brigadier Hamad Al Duhaimi, Director of Operations at General Directorate of Civil Defence. “Concerned agencies inspected the whole area and searched for the missing people, even at the neighbouring stores and the external areas which were not effected to ensure all are safe in the surrounding areas. All associated agencies are taking part in the investigation to find out the cause of the incident,” said Al Duhaimi. A 60-strong search and rescue team of Lekhwiya used 18 vehicles for the operation. Trained police dogs were also used to look for any victims under the collapsed building. The Technical Director of Woqod, Hajji Al Rumaihi, told the press conference that company officials were at the site isolating gas tanks within the explosion range and protecting them from hazards. “The Woqod conducts periodical inspection of all gas tanks in all restaurants and expert engineers ensure inspection procedures have been carried out by approved companies. We never allow anybody to fix any product that is not approved by Woqod. All equipment of this restaurant and the tank were inspected on January 15. For additional safety, Woqod had fixed a gas detector on the top of the restaurant, beside the tank,” Al Rumaihi said. Staff Maj. Gen. Saad bin Jassim Al Khulaifi said investigation continues and the ministry has asked the Woqod to carry out a technical probe into the blast. He said the committee formed to investigate the explosion will also assess the losses caused by the blast. The Peninsula ============= Gas tank blast: Embassies rush to help victims Click to view full-size picture Ailyn Agonia and Santhosh Chandran Doha EMBASSIES of India, the Philippines and Nepal have promptly come to the aid of the victims of the Istanbul Restaurant explosion. A gas tank blast killed 11 people on Thursday. Speaking to Qatar Tribune on Friday, the Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Crescente Relacion said that the two Filipino nationals admitted to Hamad Hospital are in stable condition. The envoy added that the embassy has extended all the necessary assistance to the family members of the Filipino expatriates Charlie de Castro and Romar Faduhilao who were among the 11 dead. "The next of kin of Faduhilao was already informed. However, de Castro's relatives are yet to be informed. Officials of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration's (OWWA) regional representatives were on their way this morning to the home province of the relatives of de Castro to inform about the accident," the envoy said. When asked about the kind of assistance to be provided by the community's umbrella body, the United Filipino Organizations in Qatar (UFOQ) to the victims, its chairman Engineer Jhun Tabuzo Jr said they still have to confer with the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine Overseas Labour Office (POLO-OWWA) on the extent of help they can offer and provide. Meanwhile, a senior official at the Indian Embassy said that the mortal remains of Indian expatriates died in the gas tank blast will be sent back home soon."The formalities are under process. The mortal remains will be sent back to India without any delay after following the necessary documentation and the routine procedure," the official told Qatar Tribune. Among the dead were: Zakaria Padinjare Anakandi from Vadakara in Kozhikode district, Pulikkal Palangad Abul Salam from Malappuram district and Riyas Kizhakkemanoli from Kozhikode in the south Indian state of Kerala. They were all employees of an eatery next to the ill-fated restaurant. The other Indian victims Venkateswarlu Thammala and Sheikh Babu from the state of Andhra Pradesh were at the restaurant for breakfast. After visiting the employer of Sheikh Babu, prominent Indian community member and President of Indian Community Benevolent Forum Karim Abdulla said,"Sheikh Babu, who was working as a driver, was on his way back to his work place from India after vacation. His passport has been damaged in the fire." Two injured Indians were reportedly shifted from emergency department to outpatient department on Friday. A total of nine injured Indian expats were under treatment. Most of them have been discharged. The Embassy of India also conveyed"its heartfelt condolences to the families of all the victims of the tragic gas explosion". The authorities have confirmed the death of five Indian nationals. They have also confirmed that 12 Indian nationals have been treated for injuries. In a statement on Friday, the embassy said that they are in active contact with all concerned for the transportation of the mortal remains of the deceased to their respective native places in India. A prominent member of the Nepali community in Qatar told Qatar Tribune on Friday that Nepalese embassy officials"were in constant touch with the victims and were trying to do their best to help them and their families in this moment of sorrow". A condolence meeting organised by Indian Cultural Centre was also held on Friday. Indian Ambassador to Qatar HE Sanjiv Arora paid his deep condolence and praised the quick rescue operations led by Qatari Prime Minister. Second Secretary of Nepal Embassy Harihar Kant Poudel was also present on the occasion. ============================ Tribune News Network Doha Twenty-six of the 36 people injured in the gas tank explosion at the Istanbul Restaurant near the Landmark Mall on Thursday have been discharged from the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) hospitals after treatment. Only one of the injured is in critical care. In a medical bulletin issued on Friday, HMC Executive Director, Corporate Communications Department, Ali Alkhater said,"A total of 36 patients were received. Twenty were discharged on Thursday and 16 stayed overnight. As of 2pm on Friday, six more were discharged leaving 10 patients in our hospitals." Alkhater said that out of the 10 injured, two are admitted in Al Wakrah Hospital, one in Rumailah and seven in Hamad General Hospital. Two of them are children and the rest are adults. The nationalities of those still in hospital are as follows: Nepali and Pakistani (three each), Filipino (two), Indian and Egyptian (one each). Philippines Ambasssador to Qatar HE Crescente Relacion told Qatar Tribune that the two Filipinos continuing to receive treatment are in stable condition. The Philippines Embassy has rendered the necessary help in the case of Filipinos Charlie de Castro and Romar Faduhilao who died in the incident."The next of kin of Faduhilao have been informed about his death, while the relatives of de Castro are yet to be informed. Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration regional representatives were on their way this morning to the home province of the relatives of de Castro to inform them about the tragedy," the ambassador said. Meanwhile, a senior Indian embassy official said that the bodies of the five Indians who died in the explosion will be sent to India after the formalities are complete. The victims in the accident are Zakaria Padinjare Anakandi from Vadakara in Kozhikode district, Pulikkal Palangad Abul Salam from Malappuram district and Riyas Kizhakkemanoli from Kozhikode in the state of Kerala. The other two victims, Venkateswarlu Thammala and Sheikh Babu, from the state of Andhra Pradesh were having their breakfast at the restaurant at the time of the explosion. The Indian embassy expressed its condolences to the families of all the victims of the tragedy. At a condolence meeting organised at the Indian Cultural Centre on Friday, Ambassador HE Sanjiv Arora expressed appreciation for the rescue operations led by Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani. President of Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF) Karim Abdulla said,"Sheikh Babu who was working as a driver had come back to Qatar after his vacation." It was business as usual at the Landmark Mall a day after the gas tank explosion. However, despite being a holiday on Friday the turnout of shoppers was less than usual. Aluminum sheets and police barricades have been erected in the affected area around the petrol station. Entrance to the Landmark Mall has been partially blocked since Thursday. As a result, visitors can access the mall only from the front entrance with the entrances to the west and the rear having been blocked. see also page 2 >> ======================== Report: Four men charged with negligence in deadly Qatar gas blast By: Shabina S. Khatri | 4 hours agoView as "Clean Read" | 24 Comments 182 SHARES Pin It EmailUPrint Peter Kovessy The aftermath of a gas explosion that killed 11 people on Feb. 27, 2014 in Duhail. With reporting from Ankita Menon Qatar’s Public Prosecutor’s office is charging four men with negligence following a gas blast that killed 11 people in February, according to local media reports. The explosion took place at a Turkish restaurant inside of a petrol station complex on Feb. 27, injuring 35 others and destroying several cars and restaurants. An article in Al Raya states that one of the men on trial is a supervisor for Qatar Gas (an expat from Egypt), one is a supervisor for Woqod (an Indian expat) and two others are Turkish employees who worked for Istanbul Restaurant, where the blast originated. Nobody was inside of the Turkish restaurant at the time of the accident, and the majority of those killed and injured were eating at the nearby Tea Time eatery. All the defendants remain in jail as the case gets underway, the Arabic daily reports. Gulf Times translates: “The four persons were charged with negligence in undertaking their work duties, which caused the loss of the lives, severe injury to many, risked the safety of others and caused undue destruction of the material assets of others.” Finding fault Last month, a government inquiry into the deadly accident concluded that the blast was caused by a pizza oven that was not properly turned off. The subsequent leaking liquid petroleum gas (LPG), which is supplied by Woqod, was apparently ignited by the electrical current in the restaurant’s refrigerator, officials said at the time. A fire expert from the Ministry of Interior testified to these findings. According to the prosecutor, missteps made by each defendant include: •The Woqod supervisor failed to tell the company’s distribution department to stop the restaurant’s gas supply as maintenance work was carried out there; •The Qatar Gas supervisor connected the restaurant’s new gas line without seeking a safety compliance certificate; •The restaurant’s baker failed to turn off the gas valve of the oven; and •The restaurant’s accountant did not check to make sure all the gas valves in the restaurant were securely closed. Representatives of Woqod, Qatar Gas, Istanbul Restaurant and the Turkish embassy could not immediately be reached for comment on the case. It is not clear when the next court hearing will be held. Petrol station re-opens Meanwhile, the Q-Mart Petrol Station near the blast is now operational, though the surrounding shops and restaurants remain closed. A staffer at Hot Chicken told Doha News that the eatery will re-open in two to four months, as will several other restaurants that were not badly damaged by the blast. Cleanup efforts are continuing on site, added an employee at the Duhail Quick Service Center, which is inside of the petrol station and operating normally. Thoughts? ========== I thought there was a law that didn't allow gas in restaurants near petrol stations, so surely there is a restaurant owner and government inspector culpable? Or maybe the law was passed after this tragedy? With so many entities, I wonder who will shirking the responsibility of paying blood money to these innocent victims? The accountant thing is odd, maybe he was last to leave the night before??