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Sabotage causes Russia gas explosion
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-12-10 09:47
An explosion that ripped through the main gas pipeline in the southern
Russian region of Dagestan was caused by sabotage, and prosecutors are
investigating it as terrorism, the regional Interior Ministry said Thursday.
The Wednesday night blast was the fourth this year along the Dagestani
section of the Mozdok-Gazimagomed pipeline, which together with its arteries
stretches 750 miles.
One stretch of the pipeline, which spans the Terek River separating Dagestan
from the war-shattered region of Chechnya, has been blown open at least three
times since 1996, said Ullubiy Erbolatov, a spokesman for the regional natural
gas company.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosion, which sent
flames shooting into the night sky, but Chechen rebel leaders previously have
threatened and been blamed for attacks against pipelines, electricity towers and
other infrastructure in Russia.
"Closer to the fire, there were 10 or 15 people," a bearded man named
Abdurakhim, still agitated after the blast, said on Rossiya television.
"There was an explosion, and all I could do was cover myself, and I
somersaulted away downhill," he said, showing how he lifted his jacket over his
head to shield himself from the flames.
Two firefighters were injured as they responded to the blaze that broke out
at around 10 p.m. Wednesday, less than a mile west of the capital Makhachkala,
said Murtazali Gadzhiyev, Dagestan's regional emergency situations minister.
A second explosion occurred about 25 minutes after the fire broke out, said
Sergei Kozhemyak, a spokesman for the Emergency Situations Ministry's southern
branch.
Nineteen bystanders were hospitalized with burns, said Magomed Omarov,
Dagestan's deputy interior minister.
There were no houses nearby but Dagestan's main highway, was 660 feet from
the blast site and traffic was interrupted for several hours, Gadzhiyev said.
Investigators initially attributed the explosion to a technical accident, but
Omarov said it was now blamed on terrorism, according to preliminary
information.
Erbolatov, of the regional gas company, said he found evidence of tampering
with the pipeline, but a final conclusion could be reached only by the Federal
Security Service, which has launched an investigation.
Wednesday's explosion left several districts of Dagestan and the neighboring
Caspian Sea nation of Azerbaijan without gas, Russian media reported.
The state-controlled Gazprom natural gas company promised to restore supplies
within a day.
Makhachkala is located about 1,000 miles south of Moscow.
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