TEHRAN: Up to three gas pipelines exploded on Friday in central Iran near the Shiite holy city of Qom without causing casualties or disruption of fuel supply, media reports said.
The Mehr news agency said three pipelines were struck by the blast, the cause of which is unknown, while a report published by the ISNA news agency said it was a single pipeline which exploded early Friday.
"Three gas pipelines exploded at around 5:50 am (0220 GMT) 25 kilometres (15 miles) north of town of Salafchegan," a special free economic zone located southwest of Qom, the Mehr report said, adding the blast caused panic among the residents of the clerical city.
The ISNA report said the explosion struck "a pipeline and the blast did not cause any casualties," adding the cause of the blast was being investigated.
The report, citing unnamed officials of National Iranian Gas Company, said gas distribution to households, power plants, businesses and industrial consumers had not been disrupted due to the blast.
Seven major oil and gas pipelines are located in the area where the fuel from fields in southern Iran is transfered to the north where most major Iranian cities are based.
On September 11, up to 10 people were feared killed from a gas pipeline explosion near Iran's northeastern city of Mashhad and another 16 sustained burns.
Iran holds the second largest gas reserves in the world after Russia, but still exploits a small portion of it.
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