Pipeline leak halts gas to Greece via Bulgaria

SOFIA, Aug 6 (Reuters) Bulgaria halted Russian gas supplies to Greece today due to a pipeline leak which caused an explosion in the south-western part of the Balkan country, police and civil defence said.

''The problem occurred at 730 (1000 hrs IST) this morning.

Supplies to Greece have been halted until the pipeline is fixed,'' a police spokeswoman in the south-western town of Blagoevgrad said.

Civil defence officials said there was a gas leak but could not give reasons for the pipeline fault.

''There was an explosion ... Police cut off the region. There are no casualties,'' said Petar Samardjiev, head of the civil defence service in Blagoevgrad.

Police and the civil defence service were investigating the incident.

Bulgaria's state-owned gas monopoly Bulgargaz supplied Greece with 2.7 billion cubic metres of gas last year.

Bulgargaz transits gas from Russia's giant Gazprom to Turkey, Greece and Macedonia.

Reuters SW DB1321