Residents are back in their homes this afternoon after being evacuated for several hours early Saturday morning due to a natural gas line rupture south of Port St. John, in Brevard County.

Crews from Florida Gas Transmission Company are working to repair the line, but residents nearby heard and felt the explosion from the gas line around 6 a.m.

The ruptured gas line was located near the 5700 block of JDs Place, the area of Broadway Boulevard and U.S. 1. It was a frightening morning for some residents.

For hours, it sounded like a jet engine in the nearby neighborhoods.

Several homes were evacuated as a precaution, but there were no injuries, according to Brevard County Fire Rescue. The line itself was in a remote location, but residents said the noise they heard sounded like a bomb.

"I was sleeping and all of a sudden, I heard a big explosion," said Timothy Kuzniar, a nearby resident. "It shoot my whole home, scared my dog to death, and all of a sudden, it sounded like something crashed, something blew up, and then I heard a big hissing noise."

Police were also flooded with calls coming in of people smelling gas. Some reports said the gas smelled reached Melbourne.

Another resident, David Whittamore, describe the noise as a "fighter jet sitting on top of the trailer."

Florida Gas Transmission Company was able to shut down the valves to the north and south of the rupture as they worked to repair the line.

The evacuation was lifted and people were allowed to return to their homes shortly before 9 am. Train service, which was halted because it was near the gas line, also resumed just before 9 a.m.

There is construction going on near the railroad, but an emergency management employee said the construction had nothing to do with the rupture.



The cause of the rupture is still being investigated.