QUETTA, May 22: Heavy exchange of fire between unidentified armed men and Frontier Corps personnel in the Sui area in the early hours of Saturday damaged the gas pipeline, disrupting the gas supply to Guddu Thermal Power Plant.

"We have cut off gas supply to the damaged pipeline after the incident," a senior official of the Sui gas purification plant told Dawn on telephone. The engineers, he added, have started replacing the affected pipeline.

According to sources the assailants lobbed at least 16 rockets at a Frontier Corps checkpost guarding the pipeline and Sui gas field installations. They also opened fire on the Frontier Corps personnel. The FC men returned the fire.

During the exchange of fire, many bullets hit the main pipeline coming from the purification plant and supplying gas to the Guddu Thermal Power Plant. "Several bullets hit the pipeline, resulting in the disruption of gas supply to the power plant," the sources said. The pipeline supplying gas to the Guddu Thermal Power plant was coming from Zamzama gas field Dadu to the Sui for purifying it for onward supply.

"Yes, the pipeline was damaged in the firing and rocket attack," Khaliq Nazar Kayani, the district administrative officer Sui, said. No one was killed and injured in heavy firing, he added. The checkpost and other installations in the gas field, he said, were not damaged as none of the rockets hit the target.

SSGC VERSION: A 20-inch gas pipeline of the Sui Southern Gas Co Ltd near the PPL purification plant was damaged as a stray bullet hit it on Friday night, a company announcement said here on Saturday, adds APP.