In a statement the emergency services said, “The incident on the Soviet-built pipeline occurred mid-morning Monday [1 November] in the Kaztalovskii district of West Kazakhstan region, interrupting gas supplies from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to Russia.”

“Three workers who were repairing a parallel gas pipeline at the time of the accident died from severe burns as a result of the explosion and three others were hospitalised with burns. The fire was distinguished on Monday evening and repair work is under way,” it said.

The cause of blast is still being investigated.