A commercial and residential sector of Trois-Rivières was paralyzed for part of the day on Wednesday due to a gas leak.

Around 10:45 a.m., firefighters received a call about a gas leak caused by excavation work behind the Walmart on boulevard des Récollets.

About 25 firefighters had to work for more than 3 hours to manage to stop the leak. The file was then transferred to the Énergir teams.

As a precaution, Hydro-Québec was also called upon to cut off the power within a radius of 500 meters, depriving approximately 1,000 customers of electricity from 11:10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Trois-Rivières police were also present to help traffic. Due to perimeter security, westward movement was halted on Gene-H.-Kruger Boulevard.

Employees and customers of Walmart, shops in the Plaza Royale and Gauthier Fleurs et Jardins were evacuated. Without being evacuated, other nearby businesses had to put their activities on hold due to the breakdown.

At Côte Richelieu, residents were asked to close their windows, turn off the ventilation and stay indoors. The same instructions were issued for the Laviolette primary school.

Firefighters finally finished their work at 2 p.m. after ensuring that no gas had migrated to another building.

The authorities also had to manage another gas leak on Wednesday, also caused by excavation work, this time near the La-Vérendrye sector.

For this operation, 12 firefighters were mobilized. There are also five buildings and a business that have been affected by the evacuations.

In both cases, there were no injuries, no discomfort, and no transport to hospital.