MOSCOW (AP) -- A natural gas explosion ripped a pipeline
in northwestern Russia, forcing a cutoff of gas supplies to
customers in Latvia and nearby Russian regions, officials said
Wednesday.

newsday

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), April 19, 2000

Answers

Nando Times

MOSCOW (April 19, 2000 8:54 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - A natural gas explosion severed a pipeline in northwestern Russia, forcing a cutoff of gas supplies to customers in Latvia and nearby regions, officials said Wednesday.

No casualties were reported. The Tuesday night blast hit a section of the Valdai-Riga pipeline running through a marshy, unpopulated area in the Novgorod region, just south of St. Petersburg on Russia's western border, a spokeswoman for the Emergency Situations Ministry said.

The cause of the explosion was unclear, though emergency officials said it was likely a technical problem.

Gas supplies to the Latvian capital, Riga, and Russia's Valdai district were suspended. Repair crews were working to fix the damage and said supplies should resume within a week.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), April 19, 2000.