According to the gas network operator, the explosion at a gas pipeline in northern Lithuania was most likely due to technical reasons. “The first inspection reveals that there may simply be a seam missing,” Amber Grid CEO Nemunas Biknius told BNS on Saturday.
Fire broke out on the gas pipeline, which is a main connection to neighboring Latvia, as a result of Friday’s explosion. According to Lithuanian media reports, no one was injured in the incident near the town of Pasvalys, and the residents of a nearby village were evacuated for several hours as a precaution.
Clean-up work begins the next morning.
(Photo: Mindaugas Kulbis/AP)
Pictures and videos on social networks showed a huge blaze, about 50 meters high and visible from several kilometers away, according to a report by Lithuanian Radio. According to Amber Grid, the gas supply was cut off after the explosion, so the gas in the damaged line burned out after several hours. Deliveries to Latvia have also been temporarily suspended.
Workers prepare a replacement pipe for the pipeline.
(Photo: Mindaugas Kulbis/AP)
According to Biknius, the gas pipeline was built more than 40 years ago and has been constantly maintained. Preliminary information indicated that the explosion was related to a “technological problem”. However, more precise conclusions could only be drawn after a detailed investigation, he said. A second gas line running parallel to the damaged pipeline was not affected. According to Amber Grid, the gas supply in northern Lithuania and deliveries to Latvia are now to be secured.
Latvian Energy Minister Raimonds Cudars said on the radio that there had been no gas supply problems so far. The Lithuanian side was also informed that the repair of the damaged gas pipeline could take about one to two weeks.