Explosion closes Iran-Turkey gas pipeline

Wed Jul 21, 2010 3:49 pm » by **Proto**

ANKARA // An explosion has hit a pipeline carrying natural gas from Iran to Turkey, forcing the authorities to shut the conduit, officials and media reports said.

The blast occurred overnight at a section of the pipeline near the eastern Turkish town of Dogubayazit, several kilometers from the Iranian border, a local official told AFP.

The cause of the blast was not immediately known.

The authorities turned off the flow of gas and firefighters brought the blaze under control, the Anatolia news agency reported.

The blast shattered the windows of buildings in a nearby village, it said and an investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the explosion.

Earlier this month, militants of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, were blamed for a blast that hit a pipeline in southeastern Turkey carrying oil from Iraq.

The PKK has dramatically stepped up violence since its jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, said through his lawyers in May that he was abandoning efforts to seek dialogue with Ankara.

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll ... 02/FOREIGN

Iran-Turkey gas pipeline blast: causes unknown

Iran ceased gas supply to Turkey after Iran-Turkey gas pipeline blast, MEHR news agency reported.
According to the source, Turkish “Gaz Butas” company has confirmed the information on blast, however, said the causes are unknown yet.
http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2010/07/21/mehr/

PKK behind gas pipeline explosion in Turkey: Governor

Agri Governor Ali Yerlikaya said on Wednesday that PKK was behind the explosion in the pipeline.

An explosion occurred at the 27th kilometer of Iran-Ankara Botas natural gas pipeline in Dogubayazit town of Turkey's eastern Agri province. Due to the explosion, several work places and houses in the surrounding area were damaged and a fire erupted at the pipeline. Turkey's Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS) shut down the valves.

Yerlikaya noted that nobody was injured in the explosion.

http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=61594