Finland police investigate undersea gas pipeline leak as possible sabotage
Finnish police say they have launched a criminal investigation into possible sabotage of an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia that was shut down over the weekend following a leak
HELSINKI — Finnish police said Wednesday they have launched a criminal investigation into possible sabotage of an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia that was shut down over the weekend following a leak.
Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation, or NBI, says it has started gathering evidence at the location of the leak, which was detected in Finland's economic zone Sunday on the Balticconector pipeline connecting the two NATO allies. A telecommunications cable also was damaged.
The purpose of the probe is to establish whether the Balticconector pipeline was damaged intentionally or by accident and by whom. Finnish authorities have already ruled out an operational mishap, saying the damage resulted from “external activity.”
Noting that the analysis was still in an early stage, NBI said “traces have been detected in the seabed” near the leak but didn’t give details.
Outside analysts have speculated on everything from a ship’s anchor hitting the pipeline to an explosion as possible causes. Investigators told reporters on Wednesday that an explosion appeared unlikely.
“The damage appears to have been caused by mechanical force, not an explosion,” NBI chief inspector Risto Lohi was quoted as saying by Finnish public broadcaster YLE. “At the moment we are determining what happened and (who) may have been involved. Considering the situation, we will not speculate, but work to find facts, analyze them and then draw conclusions about what caused the damage.”
The 77-kilometer-long (48-mile-long) Balticconnector pipeline
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