Three dead after gas pipeline explosion during repair work in Russia

Three people have been killed after a gas pipeline explosion in Russia.

The explosion ripped through a section of the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhhorod pipeline in the Chuvashia region during repair works on Tuesday.

Authorities said that three repair workers were killed and one left injured by the explosion that sent a huge plume of burning gas high into the air.

The pipeline, which originates at a gas field in Siberia and crosses Ukraine on its way to Europe, is one of the main routes for Russian gas exports to the EU nations.

Chuvashia’s governor, Oleg Nikolayev, said in televised remarks that it wasn’t immediately clear how long it will take to fix the section of the pipeline cut by the explosion.

The regional branch of Russia’s state-controlled Gazprom natural gas giant said that volumes of gas transit weren’t affected by the blast as supplies have continued on parallel links.