Authorities have evacuated part of the northeast Missouri town of Kirksville, including several dozen jail inmates, after a construction crew cut through a gas line.
KTVO-TV reports that Liberty Utilities requested the evacuation as a precaution after the gas line was cut just before noon Wednesday. The electric company Ameren Missouri also temporarily shut off power to a large portion of the downtown area.
The ruptured line is located in a downtown alley near the Adair County Law Enforcement Center. Sheriff Robert Hardwick says about 60 inmates were taken from their cells and temporarily moved to another county-owned building. He says the transfer went smoothly.
Kirksville is located about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Columbia.
