MOSCOW, September 28. /TASS/. A sharp pressure drop proves that leaks observed in both lines of Russia’s Europe-bound Nord Stream pipeline were caused by physical damage, the project’s operator said.
"The significant pressure drop caused by the gas leak on both lines of the gas pipeline registered yesterday leads to a strong assumption of the pipeline physical damage," Nord Stream AG said in a statement on Tuesday.
According to the company, the positions of the two assumed damage sites have been identified, and they are located north-east from Bornholm in the Swedish and Danish exclusive economic zones, respectively.
Nord Stream AG has begun to mobilize all necessary resources for a survey campaign to assess the damages in cooperation exchange with relevant local authorities. However, it is not possible to estimate a timeframe for restoring the pipeline at the moment, the company said.
"The causes of the incident will be clarified as a result of the investigation," it said.
Earlier, three leaks were discovered at the Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 pipelines within hours of each other. The first of them was detected at Nord Stream 2 near the Danish island of Bornholm. Afterward, two leaks were detected at Nord Stream. The Danish energy agency reported that a large amount of gas leaked into the sea. Planes and ships are ordered to keep at least five nautical miles away from the site of the incidents. Swedish seismologists later said they had registered two explosions along the pipeline routes on Monday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday the disruptions could have been caused by a sabotage act.