Saturday 4 July 2009

Blast hits Canadian gas pipeline
Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:13:42 GMT
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Trans-Canada gas pipeline crossing the Great Sand Hills, Saskatchewan.
A gas leak, at a pipeline in Canada's western British Columbia province, has been caused by a blast that police say is the fifth act of sabotage in the region over the past year. 

The oil and natural gas company informed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on Wednesday, after company employees noticed a loss in pressure in the pipeline close to Dawson Creek, in the northeast of the province. 

In a statement, the RCMP said preliminary examinations allowed them to "confirm that the rupture was caused by an explosion," AFP reported. 

"This blast is considered the fifth in a series of criminally motivated acts that have occurred at EnCana sites in northeastern British Columbia spanning 2008 and into 2009," the RCMP said. 

Police have said they believe the acts are the work of local residents. 

Last year, a local newspaper received a suspicious letter that called on energy companies to leave the area.