Residents of Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, have evacuated their community because of a gas leak.
Yvonne Niego, Nunavut’s deputy Environment minister, confirmed to Radio-Canada Monday afternoon that there was a gas leak at the community’s fuel tank farm and the territory suspects approximately 5,000 litres of gasoline had leaked.
Niego said there’s an “active investigation” and the government wasn’t sure yet what type of help they were going to provide, but that more information would be released soon.
Sanikiluaq is a municipality of close to 1,000 people on the Belcher Islands in Hudson Bay. It’s the most southern community in Nunavut.
Isabelle Boily, who works in construction in the community, said she had just stepped off the plane around noon when she was told to leave.
“We’re hearing lots of things,” Boily told Radio-Canada in French. “I can’t confirm anything.”
Boily said she thinks there are about 800 to 1,000 people gathered on the west side of the island, several kilometres outside of the community.
“If we have to spend the night here, it’s pretty cold,” she said.
Heather Grant, a spokesperson for Nunavut’s Department of Community and Government Services told CBC News it’s an “active situation and we’re gathering information on it,” but did not provide further details.
In an earlier email to Radio-Canada, Niego said the Nunavut government was “co-ordinating a response and should be out within the hour.”
Bruno B. Dufour, who is working to build Sanikiluaq’s new hamlet office, told Radio-Canada that people were told to evacuate to the school around 12:30 p.m. local time.
“At the school we were told to go to the airport, and then 30 minutes later we were told to go further on the land,” he said in French.
Dufour said although people have been there for a few hours, things seem pretty calm. He added that people have been handing out bottles of water.
“There’s no panic,” he said. “Everybody is helping each other.”
The Sanikiluaq Summer Games are also taking place in the community, with young people from all over Nunavik in the community.