South Miami Hospital evacuates first floor because of gas line break

The first floor of South Miami Hospital was evacuated Tuesday afternoon when construction crews hit a gas line, shutting down Southwest 62nd Avenue, diverting ambulances and keeping out visitors.

The accident occurred around 3:30 p.m., said hospital spokesperson Dori Robau Alvarez. The crews were working in the loading dock area when they struck a gas line that supplied gas to the hospital, Alvarez said. There were no injuries.

The line was shut off and gas company employees and first responders were dispatched to fix the line, a process that took about four hours.

The hospital evacuated patients and employees working on the first floor, which included the lobby area, the cafeteria, imaging and the emergency room, Alvarez said. While workers were repairing the gas line, the emergency room accepted walk-in patients only. The hospital sent ambulances to nearby hospitals.

Southwest 62 Avenue, which runs in front of the hospital, was closed from U.S. 1 to Sunset Drive for about four hours. It reopened around 7:30 p.m. Visitors were allowed in around the same time.

Elective surgeries, procedures and evening classes were canceled for the day. The crews had been renovating the loading dock area.

This story was originally published May 5, 2015 at 6:12 PM with the headline "South Miami Hospital evacuates first floor because of gas line break."