A massive explosion in a Turkish restaurant in Doha which killed 11 people and injured dozens more in February was caused by a gas leak in a pizza oven, Qatar’s Ministry of Interior said.
Addressing a press conference Monday at the National Command Centre, Brigadier Hassan Ahmed al Obaidly, director of the Forensic Lab Department, reportedly said the leak had filled the Istanbul Restaurant with flammable gas, English daily Gulf Times reported.
He said electric sparks from “automatic operation and closure of electrical appliances” such as the refrigerator then ignited the gas, causing the explosion.
The investigation concluded that there was no act of sabotage, he said.
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 an upscale shopping mall.
In the February 27 blast, chunks of masonry, metal debris and shattered glass lay outside the restaurant near Landmark mall, a well-known shopping complex usually busy with families.
Brigadier Ali Khujaim al Adhbi, assistant director of the Capital Security Department and head of the inquiry team, said they were responsible for gathering information but it was not their role to apportion blame.
“All the information collected from persons involved, witnesses, surveillance cameras have been referred to the Public Prosecution which, in turn, will decide whom shall be accused according to the findings,” he was quoted by Gulf Times as saying.
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