Traffic is flowing this morning after a south Belfast main road suffered overnight disruption on foot of a gas explosion.

Apparently caused by a deliberate rubbish fire near the bridge, it is believed that both residents and commuters had a narrow escape when the situation escalated.

Today, both city-bound lanes of the Ormeau Bridge have reopened while one country-bound lane has also been re-opened, but the other lane will be closed for the foreseeable future.

At its height, some 200 people were evacuated from their homes after arsonists lit a fire under the bridge, eventually causing the main gas pipeline to rupture on Monday night.

On Tuesday morning, Roads Service engineer John McRobert said the bridge was safe and had not been damaged.

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster he said: "The bridge is safe, it hasn't suffered any damage whatsoever.

"There was a superficial inspection last night because it was dark, but I have been able to see underneath it in daylight and I am perfectly satisfied that the bridge was not damaged."

Phoenix Gas and the police are investigating the cause of the incident.

The SDLP South Belfast MP Alasdair McDonnell said disaster was narrowly averted when a gas main under Ormeau Bridge in Belfast was fractured by a fire.

"We can only presume that those who lit the fire under the bridge had no idea there was a gas main, no idea what danger they were putting themselves, and the whole area in.

"As it was, there were two gas explosions while firefighters were close by. The emergency services are to be complimented for their swift action in evacuating two hundred people and rendering the area safe.

"I understand rubbish for the fire was collected by young people over a period, so there should be some knowledge in the area of who was responsible.

"That knowledge must be made available to the police in the interests of public safety," he said.

Long-term residents of the Lower Ormeau will recall a similar, much more dangerous incident in the early 1970s when the main gasometer at the bottom of Donegall Pass was ripped apart in a terrorist explosion.

Two IRA men died as they primed a bomb intended for the Gaswork's Military Base, rupturing the huge gas storage facility and sending a fireball into the sky that could be seen from 10 miles away.

Hundreds of local residents were lucky to avoid injury after the escaping gas ignited, rather than exploded - a scenario that would have caused massive damage and huge loss of life had prevailing conditions been different at the time of the blast.

As it was, the major emergency led to homes being evacuated over a large area of densely packed streets.

(BMcC/KMcA)