A large explosion has occurred on a gas pipeline in the Pasvallis region of northern Lithuania, near the Latvian border.
Images broadcast by local media showed flames lighting up the night sky, but officials said there were no casualties from the blast.
"After an initial assessment, we see no malicious reasons, but the investigation will cover all possible options," Amber Grid chief executive Nemunas Biknius told reporters. "We do not see the signs of any potential impact from outside."
The pipeline, which was built in 1978, had recently undergone some maintenance and officials were trying to determine if that was the cause of the blast, Mr Biknius said.
"All reasons will be investigated and clarified in the coming days," Mr Biknius said.," Birknius said.
He added that the gas supply to the pipeline had been cut off, and the fire was extinguished four hours later, adding that authorities and experts investigating the incident had no information on the intentional damage to the pipeline.
The pipeline consists of two parallel systems, and Amber Grid said the explosion occurred in one of the systems. The other is intact. Amber Grid added that the explosion happened "away from any residential buildings."
Pasvalys district mayor Gintautas Geguzinskas told LRT he had no specific information on the cause of the explosion but said local residents had told him "they saw some work being done near the pipeline where the explosion happened."
Footage released by the LRT news agency showed flames rising about 50 meters (160 feet) into the air. The blast was reportedly visible as far as 17 kilometres (11 miles) away.
Meanwhile, the BNS news agency reported that officials had decided to evacuate the nearby village of Valakelie. The city has about 700 inhabitants.
Firefighters extinguished the flames around 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT).
Lithuania's national gas company, Amber Grid, will use the pipeline to transport gas to the north of the country and supply neighboring Latvia.
Consumers in the area are powered by another line.
source: bbc
Комментарии