Thousands Evacuated as Gas Leaks in Piccadilly

A 24-inch gas main near Piccadilly Circus ruptured Sunday, and thousands of people were evacuated from the area as the leaking gas built up to “explosive levels” before engineers succeeded in sealing the leak, fire and utility officials said.

“There was a strong smell of gas over a wide area, and emergency services cordoned off the whole area,” said a spokesman for London’s Fire Brigade. The state-owned North Thames Gas Board said its engineers had found a fracture in a 24-inch-diameter pipe three feet below a sidwalk where workmen had been digging recently.

All roads into the area were closed by police, and traffic jams developed. Nearby movie theaters were evacuated, and thousands of people, including many foreign tourists, were told to leave the area.

London Transport, which operates the bus and subway systems, said gas seeped into subway tunnels from the fractured main and drifted to Leicester Square station. Subway trains stopped and backed up, and passengers were let off at other stations.

Traffic signals and the large neon advertising signs around the famous London area were shut off to prevent a stray spark from igniting the leaking gas.

The fractured pipe supplied gas to hotels, restaurants, movie theaters, taverns and offices.