In a video published by the Swedish daily Expressen, the ruptured pipeline can be seen for the first time, with pieces of metal shredded by an explosion. Filmed on Monday at a depth of about 80 meters, images of one of the four leak sites reveal that more than 50 meters of the pipeline were destroyed or at least covered by the seabed following the explosions responsible for the damage, according to Expressen.
“Only extreme force can twist such thick metal as we see,” says Trond Larsen, the drone pilot from the Norwegian agency Blue Eye Robotics who was responsible for driving the submersible drone that filmed the images. You can “see a large impact on the seabed around the pipeline,” he tells the Swedish daily.
The two gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2 were damaged by at least two explosions in the waters of the Baltic Sea resulting in four leaks. After huge methane emanations, these have gradually ended and the last of them is no longer visible at the surface since Friday, according to the Swedish coast guard. Located in international waters off the Danish island of Bornholm, two of the damaged sites are in the Danish exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and the other two in the Swedish EEZ.
On October 6, the Swedish authorities had announced that they had carried out an underwater inspection of the site and had collected “evidence” confirming the suspicion of a very probable act of sabotage. On Tuesday, the Danish police announced together with the PET intelligence services that they had also carried out several inspections of the leaks in the Danish area.
“Inspections have confirmed that there has been significant damage on Nord Stream 1 and 2 in the Danish exclusive economic zone and that this damage was caused by powerful explosions,” they said in a statement.
Denmark, Sweden and Germany are investigating the alleged sabotage at the national level, but the option of an international investigation has receded in recent days. Connecting Russia to Germany, the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines had been at the heart of geopolitical tensions between the West and Russia. Washington denounced them as an instrument of European dependence on Moscow.
Although out of service due to the consequences of the war in Ukraine, the pipelines contained tens of thousands of tons of gas when they were damaged.
