Russian authorities have blamed “abnormal heat” in the area that led to the pipeline losing “tightness” as the preliminary cause of the blaze. The authorities have denied that the blaze was caused by external interference.
On Saturday, regional social messaging channels had published videos and photos of a fire near the village of Storozhevka, northwest of Saratov. Saratov’s Energy & Industry Ministry later confirmed a gas leak and fire on the Peschany Umet-Storozhevka trunkline, which consists of two parallel one-metre diameter pipelines serving industrial gas users in the area.
The fire was contained by Saturday evening according to authorities. Power lines were damaged, leaving many local residents without power on saturday.
With a population of about a million residents, the city of Saratov is a home to a military installation previously targeted by Ukrainian attack drones.
However, the ministry rushed to dispel speculation that Ukrainian drones could be targeting regional energy infrastructure in response to earlier Russian attacks that have damaged or destroyed nearly all major gas-fired power facilities in Ukraine.
The ministry said that after preliminary inspection, “the absence of external interference on the gas pipeline was confirmed”.
Regional gas transmission operator Gazprom Transgaz Saratov, a subsidiary of Russian gas giant Gazprom, has been granted permission to begin repairs, the ministry confirmed.
