Fourth Nord Stream pipeline leak discovered off Sweden after ‘premeditated bomb blast to cripple Europe’s gas supply’

A FOURTH gas leak on the damaged Nord Stream pipelines has been discovered by the Swedish coast guard. The suspected sabotage was a “premeditated act using underwater explosives” aiming to cripple Europe’s gas supply, a defence source has claimed. AlamyThe Swedish coast guard found a fourth leak in the Nord pipeline[/caption] It comes as German security services said three of four tubes have already been damaged beyond repair, with officials reckoning the £35billion project may never be fully operational again. Coast guard spokesperson Jenny Larsson told the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper: “Two of these four are in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone.” The other two breaches are in the Danish exclusive economic zone. The official added that the two leaks on the Swedish side are “close to each other”. READ MORE ON WORLD NEWS PUTIN THREAT Fears Russia could target web cables off Irish coast after pipeline blast DOT BOMB Ukraine and Russia locked in the world's biggest EVER cyber war, UK spy chief says While neither pipeline was in use at the time of the suspected blasts, they were filled with gas that has been spewing out in the Baltic Sea since Monday’s ruptures. Meanwhile, a British defence source told Sky News the suspected acts of sabotage were likely carried out using underwater explosives detonated remotely. The source said the mines could have been dropped over a boat or placed next to the pipelines with a drone, months or even years ago. This week, Danish authorities reported one hole in each of the two pipeline sections in their waters. The European Union suspects sabotage was behind the gas leaks on the subsea Russian pipelines to Europe and has promised a “robust” response to any intentional disruption of its energy infrastructure. Most read in The Sun BANK OR BUST Bank of England steps in to save Brits' pensions with dramatic intervention ‘TORMENT’ Archie Battersbee’s mum hits back after being trolled over party at son’s grave JUNGLE READY Full I'm A Celebrity All Stars line up including soap icons & reality TV stars LAST ORDERS Wetherspoons to sell 32 pubs as it faces £30m losses - is your local for sale? THIRD PARTY Emmerdale spoilers: Mackenzie's secret lover revealed in explosive scenes IN THE MONEY I won £3.6m on the Lotto…I already have money & I don't know how to spend it It comes amid fears the key gas network could have been sabotaged by Russia amid mounting tensions with Europe over the invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky‘s adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said the gas leak is “nothing more that a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards EU”. The first leaks were detected on Monday following reports of explosions and a mini earthquake near the Danish island of Bornholm. Dramatic video and pictures released by Denmark’s armed forces showed the sea bubbling with gas and white foam from the huge leak. Swedish seismologist Bjorn Lund detected a blast with the force of 100kgs of TNT – and Norwegian monitoring group Norsar registered an earthquake of around magnitude 2.2. Mr Lund said he had detected two explosions close to the pipeline on Monday, one at 2am and another at 7.04pm. “There is no doubt that these were explosions,” he said. Twin 800-mile pipelines Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 can ferry 110billion cubic metres of gas annually from Russia into Western Europe. Read More on The Sun DON'T DELAY I was embarrassed when I found a lump down there - now I'm fighting for my life HOME HAUL I spent £115 on an IKEA haul, the items totally transformed my living room The gas flow has been shut in recent weeks sparking fears over massive shortages and price hikes. Prices had already spiked by up to 12 per cent as Europe is bracing for a cold winter.