“Currently the gas company have shut the damaged main off on the down supply of the main to try and retain some gas in the main for users down the line.”
Beech said they were trying to dig up a valve to isolate the leak and shut it off.
At 11.41pm, Fenz said in a statement that residents were once again free to open their windows and doors and go outside as the gas main had been shut down. Nobody had been evacuated.
A tunnelling machine reportedly stuck a gas main while putting in a sewer line, sending the gas cloud into the air. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Drone a ‘potential danger’
A drone was spotted flying overhead while crews were working on the gas leak.
Fenz northern shift manager Josh Pennefather said the drone - which was spotted just before 10pm - was a “potential danger” as it was flying in the cloud of gas.
Crews were unable to locate the person who was flying the drone and it eventually moved away.
Firefighters finished working at the scene about 11.15pm after energy company Vector’s emergency response team shut down the main. Hingaia Rd was closed but has now reopened.
A fireman at the scene told a Herald photographer there was “a huge amount of gas going into the air”. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Beech said Fenz were providing safe working conditions for the gas company if they were to “go back into the cloud” to isolate the leak.
“We’ll protect them with hose lines and stuff like that.”
He expected fire crews to remain at the scene past 12am.
“Working in the hole with the amount of gas that’s coming out is extremely dangerous ... It is a significant gas leak.”
Fire and Emergency NZ crews responded to Hingaia Rd at approximately 8.48pm after it was reported a tunnelling machine struck a gas main. 27 March 2024. New Zealand Herald Photograph by Hayden Woodward
‘Stay inside and await instructions’
Residents near the Hingaia Peninsula school were earlier warned to stay in their homes with doors and windows closed.
“Stay inside and await further instructions,” Fenz said.
In an earlier statement, Fenz said three fire trucks and two support vehicles were waiting for the gas authority to arrive at the scene.
