Delco school evacuated after gas leak

Haverford Middle School students and faculty received an unexpected break this morning after a gas leak at a nearby construction site sent them to the high school campus for an early lunch.

About 9:30 a.m., the 1,350 students and faculty members were told over the public address system to evacuate to the adjacent grounds. There, they were provided lunch by the district's food service.

Construction workers had hit a 2-inch steel line, according to Michael Wood, PECO spokesman. The older line did not feed into the school building, but still had gas flowing through it. The leak was capped within 45 minutes.

All students were back on campus shortly after 11 a.m., a district spokesperson said.

There were 5,000 gas leaks reported in the region during the first three months of the year, Wood said.

Contact staff writer Mari A. Schaefer at 610-892-9149 or mschaefer@phillynews.com.