WHITMAN, Mass. (WHDH) — A serious gas leak in Whitman Thursday morning sent a large plume of brown dust flying into the air, leaving one neighborhood covered in dirt.
Crews responded at around 8 a.m. to Hogg Memorial Drive after workers replacing a water pipe struck a gas line, officials said.
A massive cloud of clay and dirt could be seen billowing 30 to 40 feet into the air after the line was struck but there was no explosion. Residents said they have never seen anything like it before.
“It was a big geyser coming up like a water fountain,” said Frank Johnson.
“It was like being in the center of a tornado,” said Jennifer Grady. “I couldn’t see anything in my front yard except brown dirt.”
Power and gas were cut to the neighborhood as crews worked to fix the leak. Out of an abundance of caution, Whitman fire evacuated 15 homes on the street.
“When you have a leak of that size, it clears all the rust and dirt out of the line,” said Whitman Fire Chief Timothy Grenno. “Because of this, a brown gas cloud covered the south and west end of town and began blowing into the center of town.”
National Grid worked throughout the day to restore utilities to the area. Residents are now left to cleanup a major mess. No injuries were reported.
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