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People evacuated from homes after Halifax gas leak

July 16, 2013, Halifax – Halifax Regional Police say some residents in the city's south end were forced from their homes today following a natural gas leak.

Const. Pierre Bourdages says a construction crew contracted by Heritage Gas to perform routine maintenance work punctured a main gas line on South Park Street around 9:30 a.m.

Bourdages says several dozen homes were evacuated and roads in about a five-block area were closed to traffic.

Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency says the gas was turned off around 11:15 a.m. and it expected to allow people to return to their homes over a two- to three-hour period after that.

There were no reported injuries.

A hospital in the area, the IWK Health Centre, put surgeries on hold because it had to switch to a backup generator to get electricity until its power was turned on again during the noon hour.

Its emergency room operated normally.

Neera Ritcey of Nova Scotia Power says the utility initially cut electricity to 7,300 customers because of the gas leak, but it expected to fully return power to the area by early afternoon.

Heritage Gas says it will conduct a review of the incident.