GUNNAR THORSON

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Denmark deploys forces to Nord Stream pipelines

After a total of three leaks were reported in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline north-east of the island of Bornholm and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline south-east of Dueodde on Bornholm, the Danish frigate "Absalon" (F341), the environmental control ship "Gunnar Thorson" (A560) from Lysekil and the corvette "Rota" (P525) and an SAR helicopter were sent to the scene by the Danish defence. The Swedish National Seismic Network had previously recorded two events with "massive energy releases" where gas is currently leaking from the pipelines in an uncontrolled manner. A seismologist from Uppsala University stated that the cause "can only be an explosion". The first of these explosions occurred on Sep 26 at 2:04 a.m. southeast of Bornholm (Nord Stream 2), the second at 7:04 p.m. (Nord Stream 1). The Danish Ministry of Defense had the areas reconnaissance with F16 . The shipping authorities of the Denmark and Sweden issued navigation warnings and set up restricted zones. According to the Danish Defense Ministry, the largest of the gas leaks is causing turbulence one kilometer in diameter. The Danish Energy Agency has asked the national energy infrastructure manager to raise the alert level for the gas and electricity sectors to orange, the second highest level. In view of the almost simultaneous occurrence and the extent of the disturbances, there was speculation about sabotage. The Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Prydacz had the suspicion of a Russian provocation.