Sweden’s coastguard said on Thursday it had detected a fourth gas leak in Nord Stream pipelines damaged earlier this week, after cracks were first reported on Monday that sent gas into the Baltic sea.
The European Union suspected sabotage was behind the leaks on Russian undersea pipelines to Europe and promised a “robust” response to any deliberate disruption of energy infrastructure.
The spill reported on Thursday is the second discovered in Swedish waters, while two others have been discovered in Danish waters.
Although neither pipeline was in operation at the time of the alleged explosions, they were filled with gas that has been gushing and gushing to the surface of the Baltic Sea since Monday.
“There are two emission sites in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone, the larger site above Nord Stream 1 and another smaller site than Nord Stream 2,” the coastguard said in a statement.
She added that the distance between the two sites was about 1.8 km.
Danish authorities also reported a hole in each of the two sections of the pipeline in its exclusive economic zone.
