A damaged gas main has left some Northwood customers without LPG, with repairs potentially taking until Sunday.

ELGAS notified affected customers after the main was damaged by a third party on Thursday afternoon.

The company said it had shut off the LPG supply to part of the area following the incident.

“First of all we want to assure you that the situation is under control and that you are in no danger. Your safety is our first priority,” ELGAS told customers.

As an added safety measure, affected residents have been told not to restart LPG appliances or relight pilot lights until advised it is safe to do so by ELGAS.

The company said crews were working as safely and quickly as possible to restore the service, but warned the nature of the damage meant repairs could take several days.

“At this stage we expect this may take until Sunday,” it said.

One resident told chrislynchmedia.com that, “Northwood is entirely isolated from gas, they have turned the entire subdivision off, not just the red area that was marked on the map.”

Another resident said that being without gas was “a real inconvenience, as you can imagine”.

“No cooking, no hot water… I wish they’d hurry up and fix it, though, because it’s a real hassle,” the resident said.

It was not immediately clear how many properties had lost their LPG supply.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand was approached for an update, but non-emergency calls were not being monitored between noon and 1pm because of industrial action.

Affected customers with concerns can contact ELGAS on 0800 435 427. The company said it would continue providing updates over the coming days.

ELGAS has been approached for further comment.