MOSCOW, December 20. /TASS/. The price of gas in Europe leapt to almost $1,260 per 1,000 cubic meters following news about an explosion at the gas pipeline Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod in Russia’s republic of Chuvashia, according to the London ICE Exchange.

Since the beginning of the day the price has increased by more than 5%.

The price of January futures at the TTF hub in the Netherlands rose to $1,258 per 1,000 cubic meters or 114.325 euros per MWh (based on the current euro/dollar exchange rate, ICE prices are in euros per MWh).

Earlier, it was reported that an explosion occurred at the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod gas pipeline in Chuvashia. According to the republic's State Committee for Civil Defense and Emergencies, one person was injured as a result of a fire.

As of now, emergency services have already extinguished the blaze on the gas pipeline, the press service of the head department of the Emergency Situations Ministry in the republic reported.

The Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod export gas pipeline was built in 1983 to supply natural gas to the countries of Central and Western Europe. The gas pipeline crosses the Russian-Ukrainian border in the area of the Sudzha gas measuring station (Kursk region).

On the territory of Ukraine gas is transported mainly to the Uzhgorod compressor station on the Ukrainian-Slovakian border and up to the Beregovo and Tekovo compressor stations on the borders of Hungary and Romania respectively.