Gas leak spurs evacuation of Swampscott mall

SWAMPSCOTT – A construction crew struck a gas line behind Super Stop & Shop on Paradise Road on Wednesday, prompting the evacuation of approximately 60 people at the mall but no injuries, officials said.”We evacuated the entire mall as a precaution, including Bertucci’s, until the gas company got the leak under control,” said Swampscott Fire Department Capt. Graham Archer.Archer said the accident occurred when a construction crew doing renovation work at the mall inadvertently hit a high pressure gas line while digging a trench. The report came in at 9:27 a.m.”It’s just a little more than the pressure in your house, but there was a lot of gas coming out,” he said.National Grid spokesperson Amy Zorich said that the one-inch gas line leaked for approximately a half hour and shoppers were allowed to return to the stores just after 10 a.m. Super Stop & Shop was the only business impacted, she said. She said crews were scheduled to complete all the repairs by Wednesday afternoon.Archer said that the line had been marked by Dig Safe, but construction crews often hit gas lines. “It happens,” he said.