The first inspections carried out this week by the Swedish authorities at the site of the leaks of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea “reinforce suspicions of sabotage”, with “detonations” having caused “significant damage”, announced the floor Thursday.
“We can see that there have been detonations near Nord Stream 1 and 2 in the Swedish exclusive economic zone, which have caused significant damage to the gas pipelines,” said the special prosecutor in charge of the investigation Swedish side in a press release.
“Inspections at the scene of the incident have reinforced suspicions of aggravated sabotage. Seizures (of evidence) have been made on the spot and will be examined,” added Mats Ljungqvist.
Sweden, which had for the purposes of the investigation established Monday a perimeter of several kilometers to prohibit access to the site, announced the lifting of the restrictions.
No details were provided on how the underwater inspections were conducted.
On the Swedish side, the intelligence service took the lead in the investigation, in conjunction with the special prosecutor and various authorities.
Caused by two explosions of unknown origin on September 26, the huge leaks of methane stopped Monday on Nord Stream 1. A small leak continued on Thursday morning on Nord Stream 2, according to the Swedish coastguard.
Several countries quickly saw it as an act of sabotage.
Suspected of being the source of the explosions, Russia counter-attacked last week, pointing to the United States, which in turn denied any responsibility.
To see in video