Gas leak mitigated, Florida's Turnpike reopened after excavator hits gas main causing major leak, officials say

A major gas leak that forced officials to shut down Florida's Turnpike for hours in Hollywood on Friday has been mitigated, and the highway is being reopened, officials said.

As of Friday afternoon, southbound lanes have reopened, and northbound lanes remain closed.

The intense situation began to unfold just before 11 a.m. when Hollywood Fire-Rescue said they responded to the area of North 62nd Avenue and Arthur Street for a reported gas leak.

When units arrived, they said that they found a main gas line running the length of Florida's Turnpike was struck by an excavator, resulting in a major gas leak.

"This was an 18-inch pipe that was hit, and it goes again from Miami up the state of Florida; from our understanding, it goes to the state of Texas," said Hollywood Fire Chief Jeffrey Levy.

Levy said the gas pressure created a large hole in the ground, sending a cloud of dirt, mud, and gas into the air.

"Worst case scenario is that we could've had fatalities: the operator of the excavator, number one, that's probably the biggest one, and then, depending on how big the blast was, would've been any vehicles traveling on the turnpike," Levy said.

Officials were then forced to shut down a stretch of Florida's Turnpike from Hollywood Boulevard to Griffin Road, and traffic was being diverted off the road.

Residents were forced to evacuate after the gas leak

In addition, residents were told to evacuate the area.

"Very strong the smell of gas, yes," said Mary Rodriguez.

The leak happened right outside of Rodriguez's home. Now the entire exterior is covered in mud, and she said her car won't start.

She had to evacuate, leaving her cat behind, worried she wouldn't be there when she got back.

"For a moment I was scared for her," Rodriguez said.

Some neighbors a few blocks away described what they heard.

"Like when a tire explodes on the highway, something like that," said Nelson Martinez.

"We were leaving home when everything first happened; we just heard a gushing sound. I initially thought it was a water pipe or something like that," said Manuel Figueroa.

Residents were allowed back in the homes around 2 p.m. after a Hollywood Fire official gave the all-clear.

"We just checked all the immediate homes for the residuals, and it came to be zero," said Chai Kauffman, Hollywood Fire Rescue public information officer.

Some residents at a nearby assisted living facility were taken to the hospital as a precaution.

After officials announced the gas leak was mitigated and Turnpike reopened, the gas company spoke out 

Just after 1:30 p.m., officials said the gas leak had been mitigated and that Florida's Turnpike was reopened.

The gas company, Florida Gas Transmission, shared this statement:

"We did experience an issue this morning on one of our natural gas transmission lines due to a third-party strike. The impacted section of the 18-inch pipeline has been safely shut in. The area is secure, and there were no injuries. We are mobilizing our response team to investigate and begin repairs. All appropriate regulatory agencies have been notified. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.

No injuries were reported.

It's unclear if the contractor had the all-clear through Sunshine 811 before digging.

A representative from the construction company would not comment on that but told CBS News Miami that they will repair the line and replace the entire section once they finish cleaning up the gas.