Atlanta

Several people sent to hospitals after major gas leak in west Midtown

ATLANTA — Construction crews struck a natural gas line in West Midtown on Saturday, producing a major leak that sent several people to the hospital and prompted evacuations.

The Atlanta Fire Department confirms crews hit one or two gas lines beneath the ground on Taylor Street while trying to lay fiber-optic cables around 2:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon.Taylor Street was blocked between Defoors and Chattahoochee avenues as crews worked to repair the leak.

By 11 p.m., crews with Atlanta Gas Light said the repair was fixed and all that was left was clean-up.

Channel 2's Rikki Klaus was live at the scene, where she said you could smell the gas more than a mile away. Gas was visible hanging in the air.

Construction workers told Klaus the ground where they were boring was mislabeled.

Klaus spoke to assistant fire chief Steven Woodworth about what happened.

"We had a construction crew that was doing some boring, and apparently, they struck a gas main somewhere underground," Woodworth said.

Some nearby townhomes were evacuated. Several people experienced dizziness and vomiting and were treated at local emergency rooms.

We're talking to people who were forced out of their homes, for the Channel 2 Action News Nightbeat at 11 p.m.

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Anissa Bowman was inside an event venue called the Defoor Center preparing for the MVP-TV Network Emerge Awards when she started smelling gas. Bowman, an executive producer, was one of more than a dozen who evacuated.

"The alarms went off, and then people started smelling the gas," Bowman said.

A Channel 2 Action News photographer and investigative reporter were among the hundreds planning to attend the event.

"Tony Light and Nicole Carr were supposed to be honored tonight," Bowman said. "It's just an unfortunate situation. Hopefully, we can reschedule."

Defoor Center Executive Director Cherie Robinson told Klaus the venue was forced to postpone the event for everyone's safety.

"It was just a dangerous situation out here for everybody," Robinson said.

Klaus checked back in with Robinson around 8 p.m. Robinson said she was in the emergency room. She said she was one of several who went to the hospital complaining of anything from vomiting to dizziness.