CARY, N.C. — A gas leak forced some Cary residents out of their homes Saturday morning.

Investigators said a plumbing contractor accidently ruptured a gas line while digging with a backhoe.

Residents of about 15 homes on Walnut Street, between Bynum and Ralph streets, were evacuated for three hours.

A section of Walnut Street was also closed to traffic as PSNC crews repaired the line.

"I heard a loud woosh and the smell of gas. About 25 minutes later, a man from the Cary Fire and Rescue Department came by and told the neighbors that they were advising in the neighborhood to evacuate," resident Yates Baldacchino said.