Leak at Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline endangers Ashkelon area
EAPC reports leak of volatile, odorless gas from pipeline section close to Ashkelon, putting area at risk of combustion should rockets be fired. Danger averted as problem was fixed over weekend
Cleared for publication: A leak discovered over the weekend on the Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline forced the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC) to extract natural gas from the system, putting the Ashkelon area at risk of a mass flare-up, should a rocket hit the area.
EAPC teams were able to repair the leak over the weekend, eliminating the risk. Obvious security considerations had the incident under embargo until Sunday morning.
The EAPC detected the leak on Thursday: "We were notified of a leak and were told it was being taken care of by the appropriate authorities," a security officer at one of the area's facilities told Ynet.
"We were told they were decompressing the end of the pipeline and it would take some time. Since this area has seen its share of rockets, it was actually quite worrying," added the security officer. "I don't want to think what might have happened if a rocket had fallen here at that time."
The gas extracted out of the pipeline was highly volatile and extremely explosive. Furthermore, being odorless, there was no way of knowing how far it could spread in case of a leak.
"The Ashkelon Municipality has warned of such incidents in the past, when the EAPC asked to increase the volume pumped in through area," said a statement by the municipality.
"This is exactly why we were so adamantly against it."
