An Egyptian engineer was killed on Friday at Abu Dhabi’s Habshan gas processing facility after falling debris from an UAE air defence interception ignited fires at the site, marking the first Egyptian fatality since the Iran war began on 28 February.
Engineer Hossam Sadek Khalifa, Assistant General Manager of Quality at Petrojet’s UAE branch, was killed at the Habshan site by falling debris.
The Abu Dhabi Media Office confirmed that two fires erupted at the facility after debris fell following the interception, and that emergency response teams eventually brought the situation under control.
The facility, which is the UAE’s largest natural gas processing site, suffered damage, with an assessment still ongoing, reported Al Jazeera.
Two other Egyptian Petrojet employees were injured in the incident: Lab Supervisor Yasser Gomaa Ahmed Abdel Salam and Quality Control Engineer Mohamed Ibrahim Ali Abdel Rahman. Both sustained minor injuries and have since been discharged from hospital. Two Pakistani nationals were also among the injured.
Egypt’s Petroleum Minister responds
Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, mourned the death of Khalifa on Saturday, describing him as a “devoted cadre” whose career was defined by professional commitment and sincerity. The Ministry has pledged full support to the Khalifa family.
The incident at Habshan was not the only debris-related event on Friday. In the Ajban area, also in Abu Dhabi, falling debris from a separate interception injured 12 people: seven Nepalese nationals and five Indian nationals. One Nepalese worker sustained severe injuries, while the others suffered minor to moderate wounds.
A growing toll on the Gulf’s expatriate workforce
Khalifa’s death underscores the disproportionate risk borne by the millions of foreign workers who form the backbone of the Gulf’s energy and infrastructure sectors.
Since the war began, Iranian attacks on the UAE have resulted in the deaths of two military personnel and a Moroccan civilian contractor, as well as 10 civilian fatalities of Pakistani, Nepalese, Bangladeshi, Palestinian, and Indian nationalities.
More than 200 people have been injured. Khalifa is the first Egyptian among those killed.
Egyptians represent approximately 4.23 percent of the UAE’s total population, numbering around 480,000 residents. Many work across the country’s construction, engineering, and energy sectors, with a significant presence in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry.
Since the start of the conflict, UAE air defences have engaged 475 ballistic missiles, 23 cruise missiles, and 2,085 drones launched from Iran. In Dubai, churches were closed to the public until further notice over the Easter weekend as a safety precaution, along with the Hindu temple and Sikh Guru Nanak Darbar in Jebel Ali.
The ongoing strikes followed the coordinated US-Israeli military operation launched against Iran on 28 February, which killed its supreme leader and targeted military infrastructure.
Tehran has responded with waves of missiles and drones across the region, hitting energy sites and civilian facilities in the UAE and several other Gulf states.
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