Satellite images show a plume of methane erupting from the leaking Nord Stream pipelines - take a look

• The first images of methane escaping from the damaged Nord Stream pipelines have been released.
• The International Methane Emissions Observatory and a university in Spain analyzed the images.

The first images of the methane plumes from the undersea explosions at Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipeline have been revealed.

The images were captured by the satellite Landsat 8, and show the extent of the methane emissions, which has a radius of about 520 meters as of Thursday, the United Nations' International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) said in a tweet.

The clouds of bubbling methane had a radius of almost 700 meters on Monday, when the leaks were first detected, the IMEO said from its analysis with researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de València.

The organizations found that the giant plumes of methane gas at Nord Stream are markedly bigger than the massive leak last year in the Gulf of Mexico, which released 40,000 tons of methane. This amounts to 3% of Mexico's total annual emissions from oil and gas in just 17 days.

The leak from the two Nord Stream pipelines, which deliver gas from Russia to Europe, was discovered on Monday after a drop in pressure was recorded.

John Brennan, the former CIA director, told CNN on Wednesday that it was an "act of sabotage" and named Russia as a suspect, while a British defense source said on Wednesday it was likely that the leak was caused by a pre-planned attack using remotely-detonated explosives.

The leaks are of "deep concern", NATO said in a statement on Thursday, and any act of sabotage would call for a "united and determined response."

The International Methane Emissions Observatory did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.