Lithuania gas explosion blamed on technical malfunction

By SIARHEI SATSIUK
Associated Press

VALAKELIAI, Lithuania (AP) — The head of Lithuania’s national gas transmission system says a powerful gas pipeline explosion that prompted the evacuation of a village in the Baltic country was most likely caused by a technical malfunction. The blast Friday evening sent flames 50 meters (about 150 feet) into the sky. No casualties were reported but some 250 people were evacuated from the nearby village of Valakeliai as a precaution. The fire was extinguished by midnight and the residents returned to their homes on Saturday as repair work began on the damaged pipeline.