Dec 7, 2007, 15:48 GMT
Kiev - A massive explosion in a Ukrainian pipeline transporting Russian natural gas has left supplies to Europe unchanged, government officials said on Friday.
The apparent accident took place in Ukraine's central Vinitsia region. Some 30 metres of pipeline were demolished in the blast, said Konstantin Borodin, Ukrainian Minister of Fuel and Energy.
Gas in the network would be routed through alternative pipelines and supplies to Europe would be unaffected, he said.
Villages and businesses in the vicinity of the blast in the area of the regional seat of Tyagun had lost gas supplies but deliveries will begin again in five days or less, Borodin promised.
Some 22 villages and 36,000 persons have been affected by the cut- off, the Interfax news agency reported.
The Vinitsia province saw a similar explosion in early May, also damaging 30 metres of pipeline and leaving thousands without fuel for cooking and heating water.
The cause of that accident was traced to a leak caused by thieves or poor maintenance of the pipe, according to news reports. Supplies to local consumers were restored in three days, and deliveries to Europe were unaffected, Borodin said.
Europe receives roughly one-third of its natural gas from Russia, most of it via pipelines crossing Ukraine.
Ukraine has seen a series of infrastructure-related accidents this year including a massive chemical spill in the Lviv province, an oil spill in the Sea of Azov, a gas pipe explosion in a Dnipropetrovsk apartment building killing 17, and a coal mine explosion in Donetsk killing 101.
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