Danish officials have acknowledged that the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines off the coast of Denmark have sustained “severe damage,” with “powerful explosions” being the cause of the damage.
In a statement, the Copenhagen Police said it had carried out a number of preliminary investigations of what it called “the crime scenes”, with assistance from Denmark’s Armed Forces and in collaboration with, among others, the Danish security and intelligence agency.
Morten Bdskov, the Danish Defense Minister, told TV2 that the attack “seems not only planned, but extremely well prepared. It is really serious, and this is by no means a coincidence.”
The intelligence agency and the police have decided to set up a joint investigation group which will handle the further investigation of the incidents, the police said, adding it was “not possible to say when the investigation can be expected to be completed”.
The Swedish domestic security service said earlier this month that its initial investigation into two further leaks that occurred closer to its coast “has bolstered the suspicions of significant sabotage,” and a prosecutor indicated that evidence had been recovered at the location.
The damaged pipes off Sweden, according to a video provided by the Swedish tabloid Expressen, appear to be missing at least 50 metres of metal pipe.
The four leaks took place in international waters but within Denmark and Sweden’s exclusive economic zones. The damaged Nord Stream pipelines discharged huge amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the air for several days..
First underwater pictures of the Baltic Sea pipeline show “severe damage”
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