Explosions registered near undersea Nord Stream gas leaks, seismologists say
- European countries raced to investigate unexplained leaks in two Nord Stream gas pipelines, scientists registered powerful blasts
- The gas infrastructure has been at the heart of a European energy crisis since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February
Seismologists in Denmark and Sweden registered powerful blasts in the areas of the Nord Stream gas leaks on Monday, Sweden’s National Seismology Centre (SNSN) at the Uppsala University told public broadcaster SVT on Tuesday.
“There is no doubt that these were explosions,” SNSN seismologist Bjorn Lund told SVT.
The two Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia and Europe were hit by unexplained leaks, Scandinavian authorities said on Tuesday, raising suspicions of sabotage.
The pipelines have been at the centre of geopolitical tensions in recent months as Russia cut gas supplies to Europe in suspected retaliation against Western sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine.
While the pipelines, which are operated by a consortium majority-owned by Russian gas giant Gazprom, are not currently in operation, they both still contain gas but the environmental impact appeared limited so far.
One of the leaks on Nord Stream 1 occurred in the Danish economic zone and the other in the Swedish economic zone, while the Nord Stream 2 leak was in the Danish economic zone.