Turkish undersea water pipeline to Cyprus bursts

An undersea pipeline carrying water from Turkey’s southern Mersin province to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has burst, Turkish news site T24 reported on Friday.

A part of the pipeline burst after it came away from the seabed and floated to the surface 8 km from the Turkish coast, T24 said. 

Video footage obtained by T24 showed a long stretch of pipe on the water’s surface, pumping out large amounts of freshwater. The news site said the incident could disrupt sea traffic off Turkey’s southern coast and quoted experts as saying it could take up to seven months to rebuild the pipeline.

Work on the freshwater line connecting Turkey and the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus began in 2013 and was completed two years later. The pipeline was designed to supply water for drinking and irrigation to the island.