The accident and Edward Kennedy's failure to notify authorities of it for several hours helped stymie the senator's presidential ambitions.

CNN: latimes.com: Talking baseball and politics with George W. Bush

While Moscow said the failure to notify Ashgabat was an accident, Russia simply did not need the gas as European demand was down significantly due to the financial crisis and a relatively warm winter.

FORBES: Turkmenistan: Desperate for a Gas Market

Senior clergymen removed Smyth from some priestly duties and recommended psychiatric treatment, but critics have said the failure to notify police at the time allowed Smyth to carry out a further 18-year reign of terror against children before he was finally arrested.

BBC: Priestly collar