MAKHACHKALA, Dagestan, June 20 - RIA Novosti. The emergency at the international Tikhoretsk-Baku oil pipeline is "a deliberate explosion," Deputy Chief of the Dagestan directorate of Russia's Federal Energy Supervision Authority told RIA Novosti. "This was done to conceal the traces of oil steling with an illegal incision," the official said.
However, it will take special tests to find out what in fact caused the emergency.
As was reported previously, on Sunday the pipe burst and a fire broke out at the 181st kilometer of the Tikhoretsk-Baku oil pipeline. This section of the pipeline is in the territory of the Russian internal republic of Daghestan, adjacent to Chechnya.
The emergency occurred about 1.00 a.m. The area of the oil spot was about 5,000 square meters.
The fire was extinguished at 4.22 a.m. by two special teams of the Emergency Management Ministry and five local fire engines. Now the police and Federal Security Service are investigating the scene.
