On Saturday, around 5:30 p.m. ET, a huge gas leak in Penge Lane, South London was reported to the authorities, causing hundreds to evacuate their homes.

According to BBC, gas distribution company SGN was doing some pipe work ahead of the holiday season when they decided to cease the maintenance during the Christmas period. The cold weather made it hard for residents to leave their homes, but over 500 residents were forced to evacuate because of the danger of the gas leak. An SGN supervisor has confirmed that the company will finish their repair work until mid-January.

 

SGN spokesperson James Higgins said in a statement, "Penge Lane will remain closed at its junction with Queen Adelaide Road as we continue repairing the network. We'd like to apologize for any inconvenience caused while we carry out our essential work."

The cause of the gas leak has not been determined, but SGN said that they have made some temporary repairs in order to contain the said gas leak. Residents were quick to report the incident to the national gas emergency number when they smelled the alarming gas fume.

The evacuated residents were brought to a nearby reception center in order to keep them from the cold weather and until such time engineers were able to control the gas leak. Residents were only allowed to return to their homes at around 12:30 a.m. ET.

During the time of the emergency, some of the police team members tweeted warnings as they informed people to avoid the Queen Adelaide Road, which was blocked and unpassable at that time. At least 150 properties along Penge Lane area were affected by the huge gas leak and some residents expressed their worries on the "huge amount of escaping gas." If authorities have made it to the scene on a later time, the incident may have caused more trouble than they have expected.

The police, who responded to the incident, praised the residents and their sense of community. According to The Guardian, a Bromley police officer tweeted, "Delighted but cold residents start to return to their homes in Penge... Christmas slippers coming in useful!"

Fortunately, the containment of the gas leak did not extend to more than 24 hours and residents were able to return to their homes immediately. SGN has assured the residents of Penge Lane that they are exerting all efforts to fix the problem.