QUETTA, Feb 18: Two major gas plants were shut down on Saturday after saboteurs blew up several pipelines and disrupted gas supply from wells, officials said.

“Armed men blew up many pipelines and disrupted gas supply from wells, which cannot be repaired as a large number of landmines have been planted in the area,” officials in Pir Koh said.

They said that armed tribesmen had blown up a part of gas well No 24 in Pir Koh gas field and another pipeline coming from well No 10 in Loti gas field. The latter well was targeted twice in the last 24 hours. Following the attacks gas supply to the two plants has been severely restricted.

“In the aftermath of the attack around 50 to 70 million cubic feet gas has wafted into the air,” a senior official of the Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC) said. Against this background, he said, “we had no other option except to close down both the Loti and Pir Koh gas plants”.

Sources said tribesmen had stepped up attacks on pipelines in Pir Koh and Loti gas fields and planted different kinds of anti-personnel landmines in the area which were blocking efforts to launch repair work.

OGDC officials in Pir Koh said it would take at least 24 hours to repair the ruptured pipelines. The officials anticipate a shortage of around 80 to 90 million cubic feet of gas daily and say gas supply to Punjab and Sindh is likely to be affected.

Unidentified men detonated an explosive device when a convoy of the Frontier Corps reached within six kilometres of Kalat. Splinters from the device damaged a vehicle.