Homes evacuated after contractors strike gas main

Vector representatives and emergency services worked together yesterday to locate a domestic gas leak on Maxwells Rd, Pillans Point. Photo / Ruth Keber

Three homes were evacuated in Pillans Point after contractors hit a gas pipe in Tauranga.

Emergency services were called out to Maxwells Rd at 2.17pm yesterday after a domestic gas line was struck.

Greerton station officer Steve Wright said workers were digging holes for pylons on a property on Maxwells Rd.

"They are assuring us they looked at the gas maps before they started digging but the main was not where it was supposed to be," he said.

Mr Wright said three representatives from Vector were called to the site to isolate the leak remotely.

"They had to be able to come back and identify where the main is running and dig a hole down to it which they can clamp from a safe location."

Emergency services had contained any risk of immediate danger to the public when they arrived on the scene, Mr Wright said.

However, three homes in the area had to be evacuated - the house where the leak was coming from and two others.

The occupants of the homes were not allowed back until the gas leak had been contained.

"Then we will clear the houses with our gas detectors to make sure there was no residue gas in the houses," Mr Wright said. The gas from the line was highly flammable and would only take the flick of a switch to ignite, he added.