A gas leak from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in the Baltic Sea, on Sept. 28.TT NEWS AGENCY/Reuters
A section measuring at least 50 metres (164 feet) is missing from the ruptured Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, Swedish daily Expressen reported on Tuesday after filming what it said were the first publicly released images of the damage.
Swedish police and prosecutors suspect the leaks that emerged on Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 on Sept. 26 were caused by deliberate subsea blasts, and are investigating the case as an act of gross sabotage.
Expressen’s video, captured with a small remotely operated underwater vehicle, or subsea drone, showed bent metal and a wide-open pipeline in murky waters at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
Parts of the pipeline appeared to have straight, sharp edges while others were deformed, showed the footage recorded at a depth of roughly 80 metres (262 feet).
The video was filmed on Monday, Expressen said. Reuters could not independently verify that the images published by the newspaper were of Nord Stream 1.
Sweden’s security services said this month they had seized material on site after concluding their investigation.
It was not clear how the Swedish authorities’ crime scene investigation could have altered the area, according to Expressen.
The Swedish navy and the security police declined to comment. The country’s coast guard was not immediately available for comment.
Copenhagen police, investigating separate ruptures to the two pipelines, on Tuesday said the holes identified on the Danish side of the Baltic Sea maritime border appeared to have been caused by “powerful explosions”.