A major natural gas pipeline in central Russia exploded Thursday, the Emergencies Ministry said, the latest incident to expose the country's creaky energy infrastructure.
The blast on the Torzhok-Ukhta-2 trunk pipeline, located in the Tver region northwest of Moscow, occurred on Thursday morning and the fire was extinguished by 1036 Moscow time (0636 GMT), a Ministry spokeswoman said.
No deaths or injuries have been reported, she said, adding work to replace the damaged part of the pipeline "is underway."
State-controlled energy giant OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS), which controls the pipeline, declined immediate comment.
On May 10, Moscow suffered its worst pipeline blast in decades when huge flames burst into the night sky, raising new concerns about the security of Russia's aging and dilapidated gas network.
Moscow municipal authorities fired the head of the city's natural gas company over the incident a week later.