Explosion tears through Russian gas pipeline during repairs

MOSCOW (AP) — Officials say an explosion during repairs on a section of Europe-bound natural gas pipeline in western Russia has killed three people but hasn’t affected export supplies. The explosion ripped through a section of the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhhorod pipeline in the Chuvashia region during repair works on Tuesday. Regional authorities say three repair workers were killed and one was injured by the blast, which sent a huge plume of burning gas high into the air. The regional branch of Russia’s state-controlled natural gas giant, Gazprom, says volumes of gas transit weren’t affected by the blast and that supplies have continued along parallel lines.