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A gas pipeline connecting Lithuania and Latvia has been hit by an explosion but there was no immediate evidence of an attack, according to the pipe's Lithuanian operator.
- The pipeline grid operator said it was yet to find evidence of an intentional attack
- The supply of gas was cut off and will be restored via an unaffected parallel pipeline
- There were no injuries or fatalities reported
Videos showed a fire raging at the blast site in the Panevezys county in northern Lithuania.
The fire has since been extinguished, said the chief executive of transmission operator Amber Grid.
"According to the initial assessment, we do not see any malign cause, but the investigation will cover all possible options," Nemunas Biknius said.
The supply of gas was cut off but the CEO said the blast had damaged one of two parallel pipelines sending gas from Lithuania to Latvia and that Amber planned to restore supply by using the unaffected line.
"We plan to restore the gas supply in a few hours, in comparable amounts. We plan that the clients will not feel an impact from this event," Mr Biknius said.
Lithuania, like war-torn Ukraine, borders Russian territory. It is situated on the Baltic Sea where the Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream gas pipelines were damaged by explosions last year.
Flames initially rose some 50 metres in the air and could be seen 17 kilometres away, Lithuania's public broadcaster LRT said.
There were no injuries or fatalities reported, Baltic news agency BNS said.
Povilas Balciunas, the head of public administration in the nearby town of Pasvalys, said flames initially burned like "a big torch of gas" before calming down.
Reuters