Explosion at a gas pipeline outside St. Petersburg – VG

The reason for the explosion in Russia is currently unknown.

A gas pipeline outside St. Petersburg in Russia exploded on Saturday, causing a massive fire that could be seen from several kilometers away.

The explosion must have happened a little before half past two Norwegian time.

Videos of the explosion show how it could be seen from several kilometers away.

The Russian news agency Tass writes that the fire that arose as a result of the explosion has been extinguished a little after four o’clock Saturday afternoon Norwegian time.

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St. Petersburg is Russia’s second largest city and several important gas pipelines pass by the city on their way to ports northwest and southwest of the city, where gas and oil are sent on in ships and pipes.

Among other things, the two major supply lines of gas to Europe, Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, go from these ports. In September, Nord Stream 1 was exposed to sabotage, in that explosives were attached to the pipe on the seabed off Sweden.

It is not yet clear whether the pipeline that exploded on Saturday has any connection to Nord Stream or whether it is a matter of local gas supply.

Smaller gas explosions are relatively common in Russia, where many apartment blocks with old infrastructure rely on gas for heating and cooking.

At the latest earlier that Saturday, nine people, including four children, died in a gas explosion in a block of flats on Sakhalin Island in the far east of Russia.