Images released of Nord Stream leak sites as Danish police confirm explosions
At least 50 metres of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline has been destroyed or buried under the seafloor following assumed sabotage, underwater images published on Tuesday showed. Denmark's police meanwhile said its investigations had confirmed the leaks were caused by explosions.
In videos published by Swedish newspaper Expressen, a massive tear and twisted metal can be seen on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline 80 metres down.
According to the newspaper, the videos that were filmed on Monday show how over 50 metres of the pipeline is either missing or buried under the seabed, and long tears can be observed on the seabed leading up to the burst pipe.
***UPDATE***
Swedish journalists got permission to image one of the Nord Stream explosion sites using an underwater drone (ROV)
Caution against listening to the impending wave of explosives experts on Twitter
Their article (in Swedish) https://t.co/lpUvF0NIEi pic.twitter.com/aAkSeva0zf
— H I Sutton (@CovertShores) October 18, 2022
"It is only an extreme force that can bend metal that thick in the way we are seeing," Trond Larsen, drone operator with the Norwegian company Blueye Robotics, told Expressen.
Larsen, who piloted the submersible drone which captured the video, also said you could also see "a very large impact on the seabed around the pipe."
Investigations by Denmark’s police, military and intelligence service PET have meanwhile confirmed that the leaks at Nord Stream 1 and 2 were caused by explosions, the Danish police said in a statement on Tuesday.
Copenhagen Police and PET are working together on the investigation into what caused the leakages, the statement said.
“Investigations have confirmed that extensive damage occurred to Nord Stream 1 and 2 in Denmark’s exclusive economic zone and that the damage was caused by powerful explosions,” the written statement said.
Copenhagen Police said it was too early to say when the investigation would be complete, but that it would continue to work closely with “relevant authorities in Denmark and abroad” to examine the explosion sites.
The two Nord Stream pipelines were damaged by explosions under the Baltic Sea at the end of September, causing four leaks.
While the leaks were in international waters, two of them were in the Danish exclusive economic zone and two of them in the Swedish.
Swedish authorities announced on October 6th that they had conducted an underwater inspection of the site and collected "pieces of evidence," and that the inspection backed up suspicions of probable sabotage.
The pipelines, which connect Russia to Germany, have been at the centre of geopolitical tensions as Russia cut gas supplies to Europe in suspected retaliation against Western sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Although the pipelines were not in operation, they contained gas before falling victim to the apparent sabotage.
READ ALSO: Sweden opts out of joint Nord Stream probe with Germany and Denmark
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In videos published by Swedish newspaper Expressen, a massive tear and twisted metal can be seen on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline 80 metres down.
According to the newspaper, the videos that were filmed on Monday show how over 50 metres of the pipeline is either missing or buried under the seabed, and long tears can be observed on the seabed leading up to the burst pipe.
***UPDATE***
— H I Sutton (@CovertShores) October 18, 2022
Swedish journalists got permission to image one of the Nord Stream explosion sites using an underwater drone (ROV)
Caution against listening to the impending wave of explosives experts on Twitter
Their article (in Swedish) https://t.co/lpUvF0NIEi pic.twitter.com/aAkSeva0zf
"It is only an extreme force that can bend metal that thick in the way we are seeing," Trond Larsen, drone operator with the Norwegian company Blueye Robotics, told Expressen.
Larsen, who piloted the submersible drone which captured the video, also said you could also see "a very large impact on the seabed around the pipe."
Investigations by Denmark’s police, military and intelligence service PET have meanwhile confirmed that the leaks at Nord Stream 1 and 2 were caused by explosions, the Danish police said in a statement on Tuesday.
Copenhagen Police and PET are working together on the investigation into what caused the leakages, the statement said.
“Investigations have confirmed that extensive damage occurred to Nord Stream 1 and 2 in Denmark’s exclusive economic zone and that the damage was caused by powerful explosions,” the written statement said.
Copenhagen Police said it was too early to say when the investigation would be complete, but that it would continue to work closely with “relevant authorities in Denmark and abroad” to examine the explosion sites.
The two Nord Stream pipelines were damaged by explosions under the Baltic Sea at the end of September, causing four leaks.
While the leaks were in international waters, two of them were in the Danish exclusive economic zone and two of them in the Swedish.
Swedish authorities announced on October 6th that they had conducted an underwater inspection of the site and collected "pieces of evidence," and that the inspection backed up suspicions of probable sabotage.
The pipelines, which connect Russia to Germany, have been at the centre of geopolitical tensions as Russia cut gas supplies to Europe in suspected retaliation against Western sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Although the pipelines were not in operation, they contained gas before falling victim to the apparent sabotage.
READ ALSO: Sweden opts out of joint Nord Stream probe with Germany and Denmark
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