Gas leak in pizza oven caused Doha blast, shows probe

An explosion in Qatar's capital Doha in February which claimed 11 lives, including those of five Indians, was caused by gas leak in the pizza oven of a Turkish restaurant, the country's interior ministry announced.

Addressing a press conference in Doha, forensic lab department chief Brigadier Hassan Ahmed al-Obaidly said that a "detailed and careful" analysis found that the explosion was caused by gas leak in a pizza oven which was left open, the Gulf Times reported Tuesday.

He said the leak from the oven filled the Istanbul Restaurant with flammable gas at a time when it was shut down the previous night.

The deadly blast occurred around 10 a.m. Feb 27.

Al-Obaidly said that once the restaurant was filled with the gas, electric sparks from "automatic operation and closure of electrical appliances" such as the refrigerator led to flaring up of the gas which, in turn, caused the huge blast.

The blast also damaged nearby buildings and vehicles. He added that experts had concluded that it was not an act of sabotage.

Besides five Indians killed, the explosion also left injured more than a dozen Indian nationals.