Gas pipeline explodes in Russia: at least three people die

This is reported by the Russian mass media.

A gas pipeline exploded in the Vurnarskiy district of Chuvashia. The accident occurred near the village of Kalinino.

It is reported that the blast was caused by a leak in an underground gas pipeline.

As a result of the explosion, three people died, one more was injured and was hospitalized in serious condition.

The flames were also seen by the residents of the surrounding villages; the fire has already been extinguished.

The press service of the head of Chuvashia reported that the explosion occurred on the main gas pipeline Urengoy - Pomary - Uzhhorod, which supplies gas extracted in Yamal in Western Siberia to Europe via Ukraine.

As the BBC writes, in December, Gazprom made daily applications for pumping more than 40 million cubic meters through Ukraine. The design capacity of the Urengoy - Pomary - Uzhhorod gas pipeline is 32 billion cubic meters per year. The diameter of the pipe is 1420 millimeters.

It is not yet known what caused the explosion in Chuvashia. The regional office of the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported only that the gas leak occurred during planned repair work. The press service of the head of the republic clarified that the gas pipeline was repaired by an organization that operates it.

The gas flaring has been eliminated, Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations stated. To stop the burning, the pipe was shut down. After that, the fire stopped - apparently, the gas that remained in the pipe burned out, writes the local Telegram channel.

Whether the accident will affect gas supplies to Europe is still unclear. Although gas in Europe has already become more expensive, The Bell notes.

As the Urengoy - Pomary - Uzhhorod pipeline provides a single entry point for transit of Russian gas to Europe via the rest of Ukraine, stock prices on gas hub TTF jumped by nearly 10% reacting on news of the fire in Chuvashia, and later were corrected by 4%.

Currently, the gas pipeline is the only channel across Ukraine, through which Russian gas reaches Europe, states Russian Forbes. Despite the war, Ukraine continues to transit Russian gas, and Russia will pay for it.