New footage from Greenpeace sheds new light on the Nord Stream pipeline explosion. Accordingly, the images provide evidence that the explosions took place outside and not inside the pipelines.
According to expert statements, new film recordings at one of the Nord Stream 1 attack sites, which are exclusively available to SWR, could be an initial basis for further investigations into the alleged attacks. The pictures are underwater shots that were taken a few days ago by the environmental protection organization Greenpeace on an expedition and document new details of the destruction.
The images are from one of the leaks, which is located in Sweden’s economic zone off the island of Bornholm. The environmentalists were able to determine the coordinates of the attack site by researching various data. Videos were recorded by a diving robot at a depth of 79 meters. These images show a completely ruptured pipe, bent steel, and sections of the pipeline protruding up to 25 feet from the ground, as well as a blown-off concrete casing.
In a report that SWR was able to view in advance, it says verbatim about the images: “In the context of known considerations, that the line was blown up from the inside seems unlikely for the section examined.” The explosives expert Fritz Pfeiffer, who works for Greenpeace who carried out the analysis therefore considers a blast near the pipeline to be more likely. According to his preliminary estimate, around 200-400 kg of explosives were used for the section examined.
The environmental protection organization Greenpeace has been criticizing for a long time that the federal government has been providing little information on the background and environmental consequences of the explosions on the pipelines for weeks. Therefore, the environmentalists wanted to get an idea of the situation themselves and drove to the Swedish economic zone near the island of Bornholm with a ship and a diving robot. An SWR reporter was able to accompany this Greenpeace expedition exclusively to the locations where the Baltic Sea pipeline was struck. On site, 40 soil and water samples were taken around one of the Nord Stream1 explosion sites. According to Greenpeace, these are examined in the Toxicological Institute of the University of Kiel for residues of chemical warfare agents and explosives. The results can be expected in 14 days at the earliest.
At the same time, it should be clarified whether the explosions could have stirred up highly toxic contaminated deposits from the seabed. Because in the area where the explosions took place, thousands of tons of old ammunition and chemical warfare agents from both world wars were dumped. “There is no information about a possible poison cloud that could have been caused by the attacks in connection with the contaminated sites,” Greenpeace marine biologist Thilo Maack told SWR. Greenpeace is therefore calling for the urgent and professional disposal of these contaminated sites in the Baltic Sea.
According to estimates by Danish marine scientist Hans Sanderson, who is currently investigating the effects of the attacks on the gas leaks, there are around 11,000 tons of chemical explosives off Bornholm. However, he does not consider the disposal to be unproblematic: “We do not yet know how dangerous and risky it is to salvage the war material. But we know it’s a very expensive endeavor.”
At the request of the SWR, the forensic scientist and explosives expert Wolfgang Spyra explains: “It is a good approach that there is now further, new information in addition to that of the authorities. If it is possible to find more fragments of the pipeline at the site of the accident and have them examined forensically, there might be a chance of finding out more about what happened.”
According to Spyra, the information available so far has revealed inexplicable contradictions. The scientist wonders why no more parts of the pipeline were found: “If around 250 m of pipeline were destroyed, the material could not have disappeared. During the search, one would have to have found such larger objects that could provide information about the background.” According to Spyra, the disadvantage of the current information policy of the authorities is that with little information there is room for speculation. This is not appropriate behavior in times of crisis.
Four leaks were discovered on the two Nord Stream pipelines in September after explosions near the island of Bornholm. Swedish investigators attribute the explosions to attacks. So far, however, no suspects have been named.
