14 settlements lost gas supply due to a fire on the main gas pipeline in the village of Vinogradnoye in annexed Crimea. This was announced by the mayor of Alushta Galina Ogneva.
The Crimean Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported about the fire in Vinogradnoye at about 23:00 on July 6, adding that rescuers received information about the fire more than an hour earlier. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations later wrote that in Vinogradny “the suspension bridge of a gas pipe depressurized,” and the fire spread to the forest.
At night, firefighters localized the fire to an area of 1,500 square meters. On the morning of July 7, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that they had extinguished the fire in the forest — there it had spread to 4,172 square meters.
Ogneva told TASS that about 1.7 thousand subscribers in 14 settlements that are part of the Alushta urban district lost gas. The city itself has gas, the mayor claims. According to Ognevaya, the gas pipeline, which was damaged “under unclear circumstances,” is being repaired. Acting Minister of Fuel and Energy of Crimea Vladimir Voronkin suggests that restoration work can take from 7 to 10 days.
Adviser to the head of Crimea Oleg Kryuchkov told Izvestia that the authorities are ruling out the possibility of sabotage on the gas pipeline. In his opinion, the accident “is of a technical nature,” the newspaper writes.