On 13 January 2023, an explosion occurred on the

Lithuania–Latvia Interconnection Lithuania–Latvia Interconnection (, ) is a natural gas pipeline which connects Lithuania and Latvia. History Gas pipeline from Lithuanian border to Iecava with the diameter of 500 mm was built in 1962. It is the oldest pipeline in Latvia ...

in Pasvalio Vienkiemiai, Pasvalys District Municipality,

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. At 16:57, Police department of Pasvalys District received the call about the fire in Pasvalio Vienkiemiai village. Flames reached up to 50 m in height and could be seen at a distance of at least 17 km. As a precaution the entire village of

Valakėliai Valakėliai is a village in Panevėžys County, in northeastern Lithuania. According to the 2021 census, the village had a population of 254 inhabitants. History In 1964, the Valakėliai Elementary School was opened. On 13 January 2023, an 2023 ...

was evacuated. As a result Lithuania stopped natural gas transit to Latvia, while consumers in northern Lithuania were supplied by alternative pipelines. 18km of pipeline was disconnected from the main grid to allow gas to burn out. Firefighters extinguished the flames around 21:00 local time. By midnight Lithuania restored gas transit between Lithuania and Latvia at reduced capacity.

Cause

According to the Amber Grid Chief Executive, they do not have evidence that the explosion was an attack, however said that it will be investigated. On 14 January 2023, representative of Panevėžys County Police Office confirmed that the cause is current under investigation in line with Lithuanian Penal Code's article 278 punishable by prison sentence up to 5 years.

Explosion

At 16:57, Police department of Pasvalys District received the call about the fire in Pasvalio Vienkiemiai village after a locals heard a loud noise. Flames reached up to 50 m in height and could be seen at a distance of at least 17 km. Buildings within 1km radius overheated above 100 C, therefore firefighters had to cool down the buildings with water. Firefighters used drone to scan the area and monitor fire spreading. 18km of pipeline was disconnected from the main Amber Grid system to allow gas to burn out. Fire stopped at around 21:00 local time.

Evacuations

Nearby village of

was instructed to evacuate completely. Temporary rescue centre was established in ''

Joniškėlis Joniškėlis () is a list of cities in Lithuania, city in the Pasvalys district municipality, Lithuania. It is located west of Pasvalys. In the north of the road 150 (Siauliai-Pakruojis-Pasvalys). Name Versions of the city's name in other langu ...

Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė Gymnasium'' building with 120 beds provided for the ones seeking shelter. On 14 January 2023, locals returned to Valakėliai village. Locals from villages of Paberžiai and Balsiai were advised to evacuate and temporary shelter in Pasvalys Lėvens primary school. Pasvalys District Municipality officials encourages outside of evacuation zone to close all doors and windows and remain calm.

Transport

All traffic via KK150 national route in Pasvalys District was closed and traffic diverted via rural

gravel road A gravel road is a type of unpaved road surfaced with gravel that has been brought to the site from a quarry or stream bed. Gravel roads are common in less-developed nations, and also in the rural areas of developed nations such as Canada and ...

s. Due high temperature from the flames the surface of KK150 road was damaged and at least 2km of road was no longer suitable for use.

Repairs

On 14 January 2023, Gintautas Gegužinskas, Pasvalys District mayor confirmed that it will take minimum a week to repair the damaged

. On 16 January 2023 13:30 local time, the repairs were fully finished and gas supply to Latvia restored at full capacity. Lithuania exporting up to 90 GWh per day of natural gas to Latvia via the pipeline after the repairs.

References

2023 in Lithuania January 2023 in Europe Explosions in Lithuania Gas explosions 2023 industrial disasters 2023 disasters in Europe Panevėžys County Natural gas in Lithuania Latvia–Lithuania relations Pollution events in 2023 {{DEFAULTSORT:2023 Lithuania-Latvia pipeline explosion