6th bomb at B.C. pipeline causes gas leak
Last Updated: Saturday, July 4, 2009 | 6:51 PM MT
CBC News
A saboteur's bomb blast on Oct. 12, 2008, created a 1.8-metre-wide crater near an EnCana natural gas pipeline about 50 kilometres east of Dawson Creek in northern B.C. A sixth explosion, causing a small gas leak, was reported Saturday. (RCMP)EnCana Corp.'s natural gas pipeline in northeastern B.C. sprang a small leak after being targeted by a sixth bomb Saturday, the second case of what the RCMP describe as "domestic terrorism" in less than a week.
The bomb went off between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Saturday near Pouce Coupe, eight kilometres south of Dawson Creek, not far from the site of a July 1 bombing.
Police were alerted when a resident reported hearing a loud bang early Saturday morning.
The RCMP said the explosion caused a small leak of sour gas that was quickly stopped when an automatic safety system shut down that section of pipeline.
There were no injuries, but police said the latest blast has them concerned for public safety because crews were working nearby to fix a wellhead damaged in the previous attack.
RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said police believe all six bombings are related.
Communities 'terrorized'
"This is considered domestic terrorism. These people, or this person, is terrorizing these communities of Pouce Coupe and Dawson Creek and inflicting stress on these people who — many do have a livelihood in the gas industry," Moskaluk said.
"Certainly the gas industry occupation is one that's hazardous enough without the added stress of having some criminal mind, some person, sabotaging and terrorizing these people."
This is the latest in a spate of bombings that began last October after an anonymous person wrote to a local newspaper demanding that Calgary-based EnCana stop natural gas development in the region.
Reserves in the area are mostly sour gas, which contains hydrogen sulphide that can be deadly if released into the air.
With files from The Canadian Press
