Turkey: Blast hits Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline

An explosion has hit the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars-Erzurum gas pipeline in eastern Turkey, a provincial governor has told Anadolu Agency.

Günay Özdemir, the governor of northeastern Kars province, said the blast happened in the early hours of Aug. 4 at a section of the pipeline located in the Sar?kam?? district. Gas flow was cut in nearby Ya?basan village for safety reasons.

 "An investigation is underway into the explosion and the necessary measures have been taken," Özdemir said, as quoted by the agency. 

Energy Minister Taner Y?ld?z said in written statement the gas flow through the pipeline had been stopped after sabotage by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the very early hours of Aug. 4, as reported by Reuters. 

An anonymous source told Reuters the blast occurred on the Posof side of the pipeline, which is owned by Turkish state-run gas grid Bota?, and had damaged the pipeline. 

"There has not been any gas flow through the pipeline so we'll [not] see any negative effect about meeting the demand," a source told Reuters. 

Turkey imports 6 billion cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijan via this pipeline, which is also known the Shah Deniz Has Pipeline. 

Last week, the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline was attacked in southeastern ??rnak province.

The bombing took place 18 kilometers inside the Cizre district of ??nak province, next to Turkey's border with Iraq.