Divers should take pictures: federal police and navy investigate Nord Stream leaks

More than a week after the alleged attack on the Nord Stream pipelines, the extent of the leaks and the exact cause of the explosions remain unclear.

Divers should take pictures: federal police and navy investigate Nord Stream leaks

More than a week after the alleged attack on the Nord Stream pipelines, the extent of the leaks and the exact cause of the explosions remain unclear. A mission by the Federal Police and the German Navy is now to help "obtain a picture of the situation".

After the explosions of the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea two weeks ago, the federal police and the navy started an investigative mission. Officials were "sent to the Baltic Sea off the island of Bornholm with the support of the navy and the federal police ship 'BP 81-Potsdam'," the dpa authority confirmed. A minesweeper from Kiel manned by soldiers and a multi-purpose boat from Eckernförde manned by civilians are involved in the mission.

According to this, divers from the federal police should take pictures of the damage to the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm. According to a report by "Tagesschau.de", Dieter Romann, the President of the Federal Police, last week made a request for administrative assistance to the Bundeswehr "to support them in obtaining a situational picture of the damage to the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipelines".

The request was approved after "determination of the available capacities in the Navy and legal examination by the Federal Ministry of Defence". The federal police confirmed that they had made the request for administrative assistance, which had been complied with.

According to the authorities, a total of four underwater leaks were found in the two pipelines at the end of September, from which enormous amounts of gas escaped for days. The leaks are located near the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm, partly in Danish and partly in Swedish waters. At least two explosions would have occurred under water. The EU and NATO assume sabotage. The Kremlin had dismissed speculation about Russian participation as "stupid and absurd".