'Powerful explosions' behind Nord Stream leaks, Danish police say - Reuters

COPENHAGEN, Oct 18 (Reuters) - A preliminary probe of damages to the 2 Nord Stream state pipelines successful the Danish portion of the Baltic Sea shows that the leaks were caused by "powerful explosions", Copenhagen Police said connected Tuesday.

Swedish and Danish authorities are investigating 4 holes successful the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which nexus Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea and person go a flashpoint successful the Ukraine crisis.

Further investigations into the Sept. 26 ruptures successful Denmark's exclusive economical portion volition beryllium handled jointly by Copenhagen Police and the country's Security and Intelligence Service.

World leaders person called the damages an enactment of sabotage but it inactive remains unclear who mightiness beryllium down the detonations.

The Danish findings appeared to beryllium akin to those of Swedish prosecutors, who said 2 different holes successful the pipelines besides seemed to person been caused by explosions and that the lawsuit was being investigated arsenic an enactment of gross sabotage.

A conception measuring astatine slightest 50 metres (164 feet) is missing from the ruptured Nord Stream 1 state pipeline, Swedish regular Expressen reported connected Tuesday aft filming what it said were the archetypal publically released images of the damage.

Reuters could not independently verify that the images published by the paper were of Nord Stream 1.

Seismologists successful Denmark person antecedently said they had registered tremors successful the vicinity of the leaks measuring arsenic overmuch arsenic 2.3 connected the Richter standard and that the signals did not lucifer those from earthquakes.

Danish constabulary could not accidental erstwhile the probe is expected to beryllium concluded.

"It is inactive excessively aboriginal to accidental thing astir the model nether which the planetary practice with e.g. Sweden and Germany volition run, arsenic it depends connected respective factors," Copenhagen Police said successful a statement.

Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Ed Osmond

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