Four buildings evacuated near Parliament Hill due to gas leak

Workers moved to front lawn of government buildings

Four buildings evacuated near Parliament Hill due to gas leak
Four buildings were evacuated in Ottawa REUTERS/Chris Wattie

OTTAWA (Reuters) ù A gas leak in Canada's capital of Ottawa on Tuesday forced police to evacuate four downtown buildings near the Parliament and close sections near the Parliament Hill complex.

According to the Ottawa police Twitter account, the leak started at around 1:30 p.m. local time.

The Langevin block in downtown Ottawa, where the prime minister's office is based, was also evacuated.

The smell of natural gas filled the air downtown, Reuters witnesses said. Workers from nearby buildings were moved to the front lawn of Parliament Hill. Traffic was allowed to continue a block away from the broken gas line.

Much of downtown Ottawa is under construction due to the building of a new light rail line. Last year a massive pothole appeared in an area of downtown Ottawa where subway construction was taking place.

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