Lithuania gas pipeline explodes, nearby village evacuated | DW News

In Lithuania an explosion has damaged a key natural gas pipeline. Flames up to 50 meters high were seen shooting from the Amber Grid pipeline in northern Panevezhees county. The pipeline's operator said it saw no indications of sabotage, but that supplies to northern Lithuania and to neighboring Latvia could be disrupted. No injuries have been reported, but a nearby village has been evacuated.

Lithuanian authorities are now conducting a probe into the explosion, with the cause still unclear. LRT reported that a local village of 250 people was being evacuated. The gas pipeline connects Lithuania and neighboring Latvia. "We plan to restore the gas supply in a few hours, in comparable amounts," Amber Grid CEO Nemunas Biknius told journalists. "We plan that the clients will not feel an impact from this event." He later said gas supply had been restored to Latvia. January 13th is Freedom Defenders Day in Lithuania. On this day in 1991, Soviet soldiers attacked Lithuania civilians shortly after the Baltic country gained its independence from the bloc, leaving 14 people dead in Vilnius.


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