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Recording of the Swedish Coast Guard after explosions at Nord Stream 1: damage should be explored
Photo: AFP
Underwater images are intended to show for the first time the full extent of the destruction of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline by an explosion at the end of September.
The Swedish newspaper Expressen published footage (read the paid article here ) and reported that at least 50 meters of the ruptured Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline was missing or buried under the seabed.
The recordings are said to have been taken on Monday at a depth of 80 meters and showed, among other things, large cracks and bent metal, it said.
The video recordings cannot be checked at this point in time.
Trond Larsen, a drone pilot for Norwegian company Blueye Robotics, told Expressen that only "extreme force can bend such thick metal this way."
There was also "a very large impact on the seabed" around the pipeline, reported Larsen, who, according to the newspaper, steered the underwater drone for the recordings.
The Danish police meanwhile said their investigations into the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Danish economic zone had confirmed that the destruction was "caused by strong explosions".
The police announced that they would form a joint investigation team with the Danish secret service PET.
However, it is still too early to say whether international cooperation with Sweden and Germany is possible in the investigation.
At the end of September, four leaks were discovered off the Danish island of Bornholm on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany. According to an official Danish-Swedish report, they were caused by violent explosions.
The pipelines were not operating at the time of the explosions but contained gas.
Swedish and Danish authorities are investigating the four leaks in the pipelines connecting Russia and Germany across the Baltic Sea.
World leaders have described the damage as acts of sabotage, but it's still unclear who might be behind the blasts.
'This is a very serious matter and not at all an accident.
It seems not only planned, but very well planned,” Danish Defense Minister Morten Bødskov told TV2 about the damage to the pipelines.
The Danish findings appear to match those of the Swedish prosecutors.
They explained that two other holes in the pipelines were also apparently caused by explosions and that the case is being investigated as a gross act of sabotage.
Seismologists in Denmark had previously said they had registered tremors measuring up to 2.3 on the Richter scale near the leaks, but these were not comparable to those of earthquakes.
The Danish police did not provide any information on when the investigation is expected to be completed.
"It is too early to say anything about the framework in which international cooperation with Sweden and Germany, for example, will take place, as this depends on several factors," the Copenhagen police said in a statement.
Moscow, in turn, accused the investigating countries of investigating the explosions with the intention of falsely blaming Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the "elementary logic" showed that the damage to the pipeline was a blow to Russia's interests.
He said the investigation was being conducted under wraps and without Moscow's involvement.
mmq/Reuters/AFP