'Mechanical force' likely caused damage to Finland gas pipeline: Police
Finland
Authorities in Finland said on Wednesday (Oct 11) that a leak that led to shutdown of a natural gas pipeline from Estonia to Finland was apparently caused by "mechanical" force and not a blast. They declined to speculate on the specific nature of force but previously said that "external" action had caused the Balticconector pipeline rupture. Finland shares a border with Russia.
News of rupture of the pipeline had prompted theories and comparisons to last year's Nord Stream gas pipeline leak.
"The damage appears to have been caused by a mechanical force, not an explosion," Detective Superintendent Risto Lohi from the National Bureau of Investigation told reporters.
"Nothing has been ruled out," Lohi added, referring to the precise cause of the rupture.
On Tuesday, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said that the leak in Balticconnector pipeline which caused weekend shutdown of the line was probably caused by "external" activity.
An investigation into the cause of the leak in addition to the rupture of a telecommunications line that ran alongside it is ongoing. It happened at a depth of tens of metres down.
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The authorities said they have called on organisations and companies responsible for critical infrastructure to raise their level of preparedness.
"Damage to critical infrastructure, most likely deliberately caused, is a very serious matter," Janne Kankanen, CEO of National Emergency Supply Agency, said.
The operator of the pipeline said on Wednesday that it will take at least five months to repair the pipeline fully. This will leave Finland totally dependent upon liquefied natural gas imports for the winter.
The Norwegian seismological institute NORSAR said Monday it had detected a "probable explosion" in the area of the leak. Finland's government cautioned against leaping to conclusions.
Last year, a sequence of underwater explosions had ruptured Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea which conveyed natural gas from Russia to Western Europe.
Natural gas accounts for around five percent of Finland's energy consumption, mainly used in industry and combined heat and power production.
(With inputs from agencies)
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