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Gas is escaping from one of the leaks
Photo:
HANDOUT / AFP
Gas is escaping from the damaged Nord Stream pipes in the Baltic Sea for longer than expected.
The gas leak was widely expected to end over the weekend, but at one point it has actually intensified.
While the gas dried up elsewhere, the bubbling area in one of the two places in Sweden's economic zone increased from 15 to 30 meters, the coast guard there said on Monday.
It is a leak in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The initially larger exit point on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, where gas came out of the water on an area a hundred meters in diameter on Sunday, is no longer closed recognize.
For days, large amounts of gas had previously escaped from the four leaks in the two pipelines, and it is assumed that hundreds of thousands of tons of methane have escaped into the atmosphere.
Two leaks are in Swedish waters, two in Danish.
Sweden has sent the submarine rescue ship HMS Belos to the region where the two leaks in its waters are.
According to the Swedish Navy, it is intended to support the Coast Guard.
The Navy did not want to give any public information about further deployments.
It is still unclear when divers or a submarine will be able to examine the leaks in the pipelines up close.
The Coast Guard said that bad weather was expected made it even more complicated.
The exact cause of the leaks is still unknown.
Western states assume sabotage.
Russia denies being behind the blasts.
At least two explosions have occurred underwater, Denmark and Sweden announced over the past week.
Seismological institutes have measured a strength of 2.3 and 2.1, which “probably corresponds to an explosive charge of several hundred kilograms”.
The Swedish coast guard did not want to provide any information on Monday about the latest status of the investigation.
Investigation team planned by Germany, Denmark and Sweden
According to Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), a joint investigative group with experts from Germany, Denmark and Sweden is to deal with the causes of the leaks.
"We now want to form a Joint Investigation Team - a joint investigation team under EU law, to which all three states will send investigators," said the SPD politician to "Bild am Sonntag".
Experts from the navy, police and intelligence services should work together here.
Faeser also announced sea controls with neighboring countries Poland, Denmark and Sweden.
“We patrol the seas in close coordination.
We show the maximum possible presence,” she said.
The Norwegian military said on Monday that soldiers are now deployed to guard oil and gas processing plants on land.
This is part of a larger campaign to increase security after the Nord Stream incident.
The Norwegian Navy and Air Force began patrolling the offshore facilities last week.
wbr/dpa/AP/rtr
