CAIRO: “Explosion of a gas pipeline in al-Arish, north Sinai, is believed to be an act of sabotage,” said the governor of North Sinai, Abdel Wahab Mabrouk. The explosion occurred early on Wednesday at a natural gas terminal near Egypt's border with Israel, disrupting the export of gas. “There are no human casualties from the explosion early Wednesday morning in al-Sabil station, southern al-Arish,” Mabrouk said. “The specialists succeeded to extinguish the fire by closing taps to prevent gas gushing into the pipeline. The station provides gas to two pipelines abroad, Jordan and Israel, and also provides gas to Port Said governorate.” Mabrouk said the company responsible for activities and security of the station positioned additional guards to monitor the station. Wednesday's explosion is the second such incident in the past month. On March 27 gunmen planted explosives at the terminal, which failed to detonate.
