TWO HUNDRED south Belfast residents have been allowed to return to their homes following a fire set by vandals at one of the city's bridges which ruptured a main gas pipe.
The fire and rescue service was called to Ormeau Bridge on Monday evening following reports that some rubbish had been set alight.
However, fire-fighters discovered the blaze had damaged the gas main causing a major leak.
Fire officers narrowly avoided injury in the first of two gas explosions as they tried to tackle the fire from specialist craft on the River Lagan.
Residents were evacuated and the bridge was closed causing traffic disruption on the main arterial route into the city.
Two city-bound lanes of the bridge have been reopened, but only one lane headed in the opposite direction has been cleared for use.
The other lane will be closed for the foreseeable future and is certain to add to already serious congestion at peak periods.
Chris Kerr of the fire service said: "When the first fire crews arrived they found a fire under the bridge which they were dealing with, and as they were doing so there was an explosion beside the fire crew.
"My officers were very lucky to escape without injury. Those officers then went to each end of the bridge to stop traffic and indeed there was a further explosion. Two specialist teams and fire and rescue service boats were deployed along the River Lagan and those boats were used as a platform for firefighting operations," Mr Kerr said.
Local SDLP MP Alasdair McDonnell said it was possible that those who set the fire did not know there was a gas main under the bridge and had no idea how much danger they had put themselves and the area's residents into.
"The emergency services are to be complimented for their swift action in evacuating 200 people and rendering the area safe," he said.
Local Sinn Féin Assembly member Alex Maskey said: "People were understandably quite frightened early on because the roar from the sound of the gas was very loud. It was like an aircraft."
Road Service engineer John McRobert said the partly reopened bridge presented no threat to those using it.
"The bridge is safe; it hasn't suffered any damage whatsoever," he said.