Some 50 houses in south Belfast were evacuated last night as part of an operation to tackle a ruptured gas main.
Police and fire crews set up a safety cordon and cleared families from a stretch of the Ormeau Road and adjoining streets after the gas leak was reported.
The leak at the Ormeau bridge was reported by police at about 5pm. The arterial route was sealed off between Hatfield Street and Baroda Street.
According to a fire service commander, a fire appeared to have been "deliberately set" under the bridge and caused the main gas pipeline to rupture.
Sinn Féin MLA Alex Maskey said local people initially feared an explosion after hearing what they described as a ‘roar’ as gas pumped out of the ruptured pipe.
“People were understandably quite frightened early on,” he said, “because the roar from the sound of the gas was very loud. It was like an aircraft. So people were obviously aware it was gas and they feared there could be an explosion.”
Residents were able to return to their homes early this morning.
PA