New attack on Crimea’s pipeline?

The second accident on the Crimean gas pipeline has occurred this morning, the Crimean Main Directorate of the Russian Emergencies Ministry said.

"We confirm that the second accident [on the pipeline] has taken place," a Crimean Main Directorate official said.

"The break-down is supposed to have been caused by damage on the pipeline not far from the village of Zaprudnoye, near Partenit. Now 7,971 people are currently without gas," TASS cited the source as saying.

According to earlier reports, about 1,200 people from several Crimean villages - Vinogradnoe, Kiparisnoe, Maly Mayak, Pushkino and Utyos - were left without gas because of the emergency on the pipeline near the resort town of Alushta. The emergency occurred at about 20:30 Moscow time on Tuesday, the Emergencies Ministry reported.

The National Anti-Terror Committee earlier reported that law enforcement authorities are following up the lead that the gas pipeline had been blown up. Crymgazseti Director Sergey Tarasov also said that explosion was possible.