More than 300 staff members and children from Petra Ministries on Robinson Boulevard were evacuated after a contractor punctured a nearby natural gas line at about 12:30 p.m. on March 12.

The line's gas was shut off immediately, said Howard Burton, Penn Hills police chief.

The evacuated staff members and children were taken to a Wilkinsburg church for safety, he said.

The contractor was doing work on the site, which is expected to be developed for the East Hills Wal-Mart and Lowe's, Burton said.

Petra Ministries is the landowner for the commercial development and has its building next to the site where the gas line was punctured.