Fact-check: Has the man probing the Nord Stream explosions died?

One month after leaks have been detected within the Nord Stream fuel pipelines, false claims in regards to the incident proceed to unfold on-line.

Social media customers have claimed, with out proof, that the lead Swedish investigator into the incident has died.

Posts referring to the supposed dying of “Erik Ollsen” have unfold on-line in France, Germany, and Italy. 

Euronews has fact-checked the claims.

What is the background?

On September 26, 4 enormous fuel leaks have been found on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines that have been constructed to move Russian fuel throughout the Baltic Sea to Europe.

Swedish authorities mentioned that “explosions” had been detected earlier than the leaks, main the West to recommend an act of sabotage, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow has in flip accused the West of “worldwide terrorism” amid heightened tensions and safety issues.

“Our intelligence companies have proof to recommend that the assault was directed and coordinated by British navy specialists,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov advised reporters on Tuesday.

False claims in regards to the supposed dying of Swedish lead investigator “Erik Ollsen” first appeared on Twitter in Dutch, and have since unfold to Fb, Twitter, and Telegram, with variations on the spelling of his identify.

One Fb put up claimed that Ollsen had died from a “bee sting” and that he can be “cremated inside hours”. Many customers steered that had died suspiciously earlier than revealing the true reason behind the harm to the pipelines.

However authorities in Denmark, Germany, and Sweden have all denied that any such investigator within the case known as “Erik Ollsen”.

In response to Sweden’s Prosecution Authority, the pinnacle investigator into the Nord Stream leaks known as “Mats Ljungqvist”.

Each the authority and Stockholm police have advised AFP that they don’t seem to be conscious of any suspicious dying among the many Nord Stream investigators.

“No prosecutor answerable for the [Nord Stream] case known as Erik Olsson, died on account of a bee sting,” a assertion learn.

Amid the web misinformation, Erik Olsen — a Norwegian skilled in marine ecosystems — has additionally stated on Twitter that he’s not concerned within the Nord Stream probe and is “very a lot alive”.