ered to evacuate their neighborhood. About 180 people in Kitami city in northern Hokkaido prefecture (state) were told to leave their homes after the leakage in residential gas lines occurred early Friday afternoon, said city official Osamu Oe.
At least eight people were hospitalized, but their conditions were not immediately known, said local fire department official Wataru Takayashiki.
The gas is believed to have escaped into a sewage system and then into nearby homes after leaking from a pipe beneath a sidewalk, Takayashiki said,
Officials were investigating the reason for the pipe's rupture. Takayashiki said it may have been caused by metal fatigue or frozen soil.
No fires or explosions were reported, said city official Chikara Kiyono. Residents were urged to shut off gas lines going into their homes before they evacuated, he said.
The fire department responded after local utility company Hokkaido Gas Co. notified it that residents were complaining of the smell of gas in their neighborhood, said another fire department official, Takao Yokoyama.
Police established an off-limits area while officials worked to determine the exact location and cause of the leak, he said. The leak had not yet been contained, he said.
Gas company officials were not immediately available for comment.
Kitami is about 970 kilometers (600 miles) northeast of Tokyo.
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