UPDATE 3:45 p.m. – Interior Health says the Nicola Valley Hospital in Merritt has reopened after a gas leak earlier this morning forced the evacuation of the facility.

IH says air sensor alarms in the hospital were triggered by gas coming out of a sewage drain of a bathroom around 10:15 a.m. Friday morning.

“Our priority was to ensure existing patients and staff were safe so the site was evacuated,” the health authority said, in a statement, noting 10 patients were temporarily transferred to an alternate location.

Interior Health says both the Merritt Fire Department and Fortis BC have given the the all-clear after the hospital building was ventilated.

“It appears that the smell of gas came from a blocked pipe and a reaction with drain cleaning fluid in that pipe,” IH said. “There were no injuries associated with this situation.”

“[We] would like to thank our staff and managers for supporting the safety of patients on site, the local fire department and public works, RCMP, BC Transit and others for helping us to address this issue as quickly as possible.