An explosion in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline last month destroyed 50 metres of pipe, new underwater images show. A massive tear can be seen in video footage, with much of the stretch of pipe either missing or buried under the seabed. The two Nord Stream pipelines were damaged by blasts under the Baltic Sea at the end of September, causing four leaks. While the incidents took place in international waters, two of them were in the Danish exclusive economic zone and two in the Swedish zone. Denmark says the damage was caused by “powerful explosions.”
Swedish journalists, together with Norwegian experts, October 17, photographed and filmed a destroyed 50-metre section of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline with underwater drones.
“It is only an extreme force that can bend metal that thick in the way we are seeing,” Trond Larsen, a drone operator with the Norwegian company Blueye Robotics, told news organization Expressen.
Expressen released video which it says is the first publicly available footage of damage to the system. Filmed from a private drone, it appeared to show a gaping rupture. Expressen said a 164 foot section was missing from one stretch of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
It still remains unclear who might be behind the detonations and there has been many accusations and finger pointing. Russia agrees that the damage was caused by sabotage and thinks it was the US and its allies.
Who blew up the pipeline?
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) October 10, 2022
Gazprom just released these photos of a NATO Seafox drone that was found right next to Nord Stream 1 in 2015. The drone failed to detonate. NATO was caught red-handed and claimed the drone was lost during exercises. They tried it before. Go figure. pic.twitter.com/aH1NhefXGe
Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov:
“This investigation was set up inherently to put the blame on Russia. It’s absurd. This is absurd, and it was reported, our intelligence service has all the evidence to prove the opposite. Furthermore, just elementary logic is needed to understand that such sabotage damages Russian interests on a large scale.”
However, some think that Putin can smell defeat and is taking everything down with him. It’s now the official White House line.
President Biden calls the explosion at the Nord Stream pipeline this week a "deliberate act of sabotage" by Russia:
— The Recount (@therecount) September 30, 2022
"Just don't listen to what Putin is saying. What he's saying, we know is not true." pic.twitter.com/pld4ZE12DV