Explosives have been found

 

Nord Stream 

Confirmed sabotage at Nord Stream 

 

Of: 

 

Alexander Bönke 

 

Published: Today 09.17 

 

Updated: Less than 3 hours ago 

 

NEWS 

 

The explosions at Nord Stream 1 and 2 were sabotage. 

 

This is the opinion of District Attorney Mats Ljungqvist. 

 

-Analyses that have now been carried out show traces of explosives on several of the foreign objects that were found. 

 

The explosions at Nord Stream 1 and 2 what sabotage, says Chamber Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist in a press release. 

 

- During the crime scene investigations that were carried out on site in the Baltic Sea, extensive seizures were made and the area has been carefully documented. Analyzes that have now been carried out show traces of explosives on several of the foreign objects that were found. The advanced analysis work continues to be able to draw safer conclusions about the incident, says Mats Ljungqvist. 

 

Complex preliminary investigation 

 

According to Mats Ljungqvist, the preliminary investigation is very complex and extensive and so far it is not clear whether anyone will be served with suspicion of crime. 

 

- The cooperation with authorities in Sweden and in other countries works excellently. For the continued work with the preliminary investigation and for the various ongoing collaborations, it is important that we can work in peace and quiet, says Chamber prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist. 

 

Large gas cloud spread over Scandinavia 

 

It was from the 26th of September that the leaks on the gas lines were discovered, which led to a huge methane cloud spreading over Sweden and Norway.

 

- We have never seen anything like this before, said Cathrine Lund Myhre, senior researcher at the Norwegian Air Research Institute. 

 

Later, the navy sent the submarine rescue ship HMS Belos and the recovery diver HMS Sturkö to assist Säpo in the investigations of the gas pipelines, according to sources for Dagens Nyheter. 

 

Investigations are ongoing in several countries 

 

Seismologists in several countries have determined that the leaks were caused by explosions, and Sweden and other countries have started their own criminal investigations. 

 

Among other things, the navy sent the submarine rescue ship HMS Belos and the recovery diver ship HMS Sturkö to assist Säpo in the investigations of the gas pipelines, according to sources for Dagens Nyheter. 

 

Russia and the West have accused each other of being behind the sabotage, but so far none of the ongoing investigations have led to the identification of anyone guilty. 

 

Ghost ship days before the explosion 

 

Just days before the explosions, two ships passed the area of ​​the Nord Stream 2 leaks – and they did so with transmitters, so-called AIS transponders, turned off, reports the American magazine Wired.

 

- This means that there was no information about their movements and that they tried to hide their position and general information from the outside world, says Jerry Javornicky, CEO of the satellite image company Spaceknow, to Wired. 

 

Spaceknow promptly reported its findings to NATO. Jerry Javornicky tells Wired that the military alliance then asked to "get more information". A NATO source also told the newspaper that the images and data from Spaceknow could prove useful to the investigators. 

 

The ghost ships, whose origin is unknown, were found after Spaceknow looked through 90 days of archived satellite data. Another 23 ships were visible in the images, but all had their transponders on, Wired writes. 

 

Unusable forever After the explosion, German security authorities assumed that the pipes in Nord Stream 1 and 2 will be unusable forever, German newspaper Tagesspiegel reported, citing government sources. 

 

         

          The gas leak at Nord Stream. Photo: AP/Kustbevakningen

 

           

Photo: AP/Coast Guard

         

          Nord Stream at Lubmin in Germany in a stock Photo: Markus Schreiber /AP