A section of downtown Montreal was shut down and several stores, including the Eaton Centre, were evacuated after a gas leak was discovered on Thursday afternoon.
The incident happened at around 3 p.m. at the corner of Sainte-Catherine Street West and McGill College Avenue where construction crews were working.
Dozens of Montreal firefighters and Gaz Metro crews were on scene and managed to contain the leak at around 7 p.m.
Montreal police closed off De Maisonneuve and Rene Levesque boulevards between Metcalfe Street and Robert Bourassa Boulevard.
Thousands of Montrealers in the downtown area lost power as Montreal’s fire department asked Hydro-Quebec to cut it as a preventative measure.
McGill Metro Station on the Green Line was also evacuated and trains were not stopping at the station until 7:30 p.m., when the service resumed.
The city fire department advises Montrealers to avoid the area if possible.
Gaz Metropolitain crews are currently performing tests in the area.
Circulation is expected to resume within the next hour.
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