OTTAWA - A GAS leak at a pipeline owned by EnCana in Canada's western British Columbia province was caused by a blast that police said on Thursday is the fifth act of sabotage in the region since October 2008.

The oil and natural gas company informed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on Wednesday, after company employees noticed a loss in pressure in the pipeline close to Dawson Creek, in the northeast of the province.

In a statement, the RCMP said preliminary examinations allowed them to 'confirm that the rupture was caused by an explosion.' The statement said there was 'no immediate or imminent danger to the public as a result of the gas leak,' adding that EnCana and the RCMP had put in place a wide area of containment.

'This blast is considered the fifth in a series of criminally motivated acts that have occurred at EnCana sites in northeastern British Columbia spanning 2008 and into 2009,' the RCMP said.

The blasts have not caused any deaths or injuries, but have damaged various EnCana sites, with one explosion forcing the shutdown of a minor pipeline.

Police have said they believe the acts are the work of local residents.

Last year, a local newspaper received a suspicious letter that called on energy companies to leave the area.

EnCana has offered a reward of 500,000 Canadian dollars for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the blasts.

EnCana spokesman Rhona DelFrari said a team from the company is working to repair the damage caused by the latest blast but added that a small amount of gas is still leaking from the pipeline. -- AFP