Over 1,300 families at a residential compound were evacuated for several hours after over 50,000 cubic meters of gas leaked on Friday morning from a nearby construction site in Harbin, capital of northeast Heilongjiang Province.

No casualties have been reported from the accident.

Construction workers' defiance of construction rules and regulations was blamed as the direct cause of the gas leak, which happened around 10 a.m. Friday after the gas pipes were broken, according to the police department.

Patrols of the Harbin gas and chemical company found some construction workers from the city's railway bureau were ready to start working at the construction site, where the gas pipes were buried. But the workers continued digging neglecting of the patrols' objection and warning.

The local government asked the police to help the people livingin the nearby residential community to evacuate to safe places to be safe from any further explosions.

In addition, the fire-control team has sent a dozen fire engines to the site and tried to dilute the gas by spraying water into the broken pipe, said Peng Yanhui, head of the team.

Around 2:30 p.m., the broken gas pipe was repaired and the evacuees returned home around 5 p.m..

As of press time, the work is still underway.

(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2004)