Finnish police said on Thursday they had completed their crime scene investigation into the damage to a subsea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia.
The Balticconnector pipeline linking Finland and Estonia ruptured earlier this month in what authorities said may have been a deliberate act of sabotage, cutting off the flow of gas between the two countries until April at least.
Police said in a statement samples collected at the site in cooperation with Finland's armed forces and coast guard would now be analyzed.
"Although the scene investigation into the damage in the gas pipeline has been completed, investigations and the presence of authorities still continue in the area," the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation said.
"Subsequently, the area surrounding the damage will be widely examined," they added.
(Reuters - Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Terje Solsvik)
