An Egyptian engineer was killed on Friday at the Habshan gas processing facility in Abu Dhabi after falling debris from a UAE air defense interceptor ignited fires at the site, marking the first Egyptian death since the start of the Iran war on February 28.
Engineer Hossam Sadiq Khalifa, Assistant General Manager for Quality at the Petrojet branch in the Emirates, was killed at the Habshan site as a result of falling debris.
Abu Dhabi Media Office certain Two fires broke out in the facility after debris fell after the interception, and that emergency response teams were eventually able to control the situation.
Al Jazeera reported that the facility, which is the largest natural gas processing site in the United Arab Emirates, suffered damage, and the assessment is still ongoing.
Two other Egyptian Petrojet employees were injured in the accident, namely the laboratory supervisor, Yasser Gomaa Ahmed Abdel Salam, and the quality control engineer, Mohamed Ibrahim Ali Abdel Rahman. Both suffered minor injuries and have since been released from the hospital. Among the wounded were two Pakistani citizens.
The Egyptian Minister of Petroleum responds
Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi sadness Khalifa died on Saturday, describing him as a “loyal staff” whose career was characterized by professional commitment and sincerity. The Ministry pledged to provide full support to Khalifa’s family.
The incident in Habshan was not the only wreck-related incident on Friday. In the Ajban area, also in Abu Dhabi, falling debris from a separate interception operation injured 12 people: seven Nepalese nationals and five Indian nationals. One Nepalese worker was seriously injured, while the others sustained minor to moderate injuries.
Increasing losses in the expatriate workforce in the Gulf region
Khalifa’s death highlights the disproportionate risks borne by millions of foreign workers who form the backbone of the Gulf’s energy and infrastructure sectors.
Since the start of the war, Iranian attacks on the UAE have resulted in the killing of two soldiers and a Moroccan civilian contractor, in addition to the killing of 10 civilians of Pakistani, Nepalese, Bangladeshi, Palestinian, and Indian nationalities.
More than 200 people were injured. Khalifa is the first Egyptian among the dead.
Egyptians represent approximately 4.23% of the total population of the United Arab Emirates, which numbers approximately 480,000 people. Many of them work in the construction, engineering and energy sectors in the country, with a significant presence in the oil and gas industry in Abu Dhabi.
Since the beginning of the conflict, UAE air defenses have engaged 475 ballistic missiles, 23 cruise missiles, and 2,085 drones launched from Iran. In Dubai, it was churches closed To the public until further notice during the Easter holidays as a safety precaution, along with the Hindu and Sikh Guru Nanak Darbar in Jebel Ali.
The ongoing strikes follow the coordinated US-Israeli military operation launched against Iran on February 28, which killed the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader and targeted military infrastructure.
Tehran responded with waves of missiles and drones across the region, hitting energy sites and civilian facilities in the UAE and several other Gulf states.