AN OFFICIAL investigation into last week’s gas leak scare in Liverpool city centre is to be launched by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Hundreds of people were moved from the area around the former Lewis’s department store amid fears of a huge gas explosion caused by a ruptured pipe.

Merseyrail’s busiest station, Liverpool Central, was also closed throughout the incident on Thursday afternoon.

Following initial inquiries the HSE has now confirmed it is to launch a formal investigation.

This was because the incident met the official criterion of being “a dangerous occurrence with the potential to cause significant harm.”

It is alleged the gas pipe was damaged by building rubble falling from a chute used by sub-contractors working on top of the famous Lewis’s building, at the corner of Renshaw Street and Ranelagh Street.

The site where the suspected gas leak occurred is currently undergoing a major transformation by developers Merepark. A number of sub-contractors are also on site.

A spokesman for the HSE said: “The investigation will look at what happened, what caused the incident, and whether any company or individual is to blame.