A gas pipeline explodes near the Russian metropolis of St. Petersburg, reports the region’s governor. Images appear on social networks showing a massive fire. Nothing is known about the cause of the explosion.
In the north of St. Petersburg, the explosion of a gas pipeline caused a major fire. “Fire and rescue workers are putting out the fire caused by an explosion on a gas pipeline between (the villages of) Berngardovka and Kovalyovo,” wrote the governor of Leningrad region Alexander Drozdenko on his Telegram channel. There is no information about possible victims or the cause of the explosion.
At first it was said that an LPG filling station had exploded. An exploding gas line was later named as the cause of the major fire. According to Drozdenko, there is no risk of the flames spreading to residential areas. However, the pillar of fire is visible from kilometers away, as videos on social networks show.
At the end of September, several strands of the Nord Stream pipeline ruptured in the Baltic Sea following explosions. Investigators have since found explosives at the scene of the accident. The Russian leadership, which spoke of an attack, blamed it on the United States or Great Britain.