World News 12 die in Doha restaurant blast - Gulf Daily News

DOHA: Twelve people were killed, including two children, and about 30 wounded when a gas tank exploded at a Turkish restaurant in Doha yesterday.

Qatar's head of public security Major-General Saad bin Jassim Al Khalifi said Arabs, Asians and one Qatari were among the dead and wounded.

Preliminary investigations suggested that a gas tank exploded, setting off a fire and causing part of the building to collapse. However, investigations are continuing to discover what caused the gas tank to explode.

"It was a very big blast," he said.

"It blew away cars and the shrapnel scattered 50 or 100 metres away."

Chunks of masonry, metal debris and shattered glass lay outside the restaurant in a northwestern district of the city. Cars crumpled by the explosion stood nearby.

The incident was the deadliest in Qatar since May 2012, when at least 19 foreign nationals, including 13 children, were killed by a fire in a shopping mall.

The area around the Istanbul restaurant is on the outskirts of the capital near Landmark mall.

His Majesty King Hamad last night sent a cable of condolences to Qatari Amir Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the victims of the blast.

His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, sent similar cables to the Qatari Amir.

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