Japan: Residents evacuated as gas leak kills two

A utility gas leak killed at least two people in icy northern Japan today, and local officials have urged dozens of residents to evacuate their neighbourhood.

Nearly 180 people in the northern Hokkaido prefecture city of Kitami were ordered to evacuate to a nearby elementary school after the leak in residential gas lines, city official Osamu Oe said.

At least eight other people were injured and being treated at nearby hospitals, but their conditions were not immediately known, local fire department official Wataru Takayashiki said.

He said officials have determined a general location of the leak, which occurred underground gas pipe beneath a pavement.

The gas leak was believed to have escaped into sewage system before being released into nearby homes, Takayashiki said, adding that details are still under investigation.

Local utility company Hokkaido Gas Co is currently working to stop gas supply to the 77 homes subject to evacuation.

Officials are still investigating the cause of the gas pipe rupture, which might have been caused by metal fatigue or frozen soil, Takayashiki said.