Water main breaks on St. Antoine St.

A water main has cracked in the intense cold that covered Montreal this week.

Around 7:30 a.m. Thursday morning the 30-cm pipe underneath Vinet St. and St. Antoine St. broke, sending a torrent of water rushing downhill.

The flood of water also created fog in the area as water and ice evaporated and sublimated in the dry air.

Vinet St. was turned into a slushy river, with large pools of water accumulating several blocks downhill at Quesnel St. and St. Jacques St.

Several cars were stuck, trapped in the ice that formed with the Arctic temperatures, and tow trucks were needed to pull them out.

Police officers were diverting traffic on St. Jacques St. so drivers would not get stuck in the icy mess.

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  Montreal city workers had to tow cars out of the water before it froze solid (CTV Montreal/Jan. 8, 2015)

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  Police blocked off Vinet St. where a water main broke at St. Antoine St. (CTV Montreal/Jan. 8, 2015)