SYDNEY, May 30 (Xinhua) -- A huge fireball with billowing black smoke erupted in Sydney's North Shore Tuesday morning, after road workers using heavy machinery accidentally severed a gas line.
Around 30 residents had to be evacuated from five houses in the affluent suburban neighbourhood of Neutral Bay, while seven fire crew members fought the blaze.
Authorities are reported to have an extremely difficult time containing the blaze because the gas company responsible for the line was delayed in isolating its exact location, in order to shut it down.
The inferno is thought to have started at 07:15 local time, but it wasn't until 09:00 when firefighters were able to extinguish the flames.
The road-cutting machinery which caused the incident was completely destroyed by the fire, which also engulfed other work equipment on the site.
Emergency services said there were no reports of injuries.
