The natural gas leak at a local elementary school has been located and the defective equipment removed from the cafeteria.

Picayune School District Assistant Brent Harrell said that the cause of the ongoing leak was found Thursday morning inside the cafeteria’s stove.

He said the stove has since been removed, and a new one will be ordered. For the time being, students will be served sack lunches prepared at the Picayune Junior High campus until a new stove is ordered and installed.

Picayune Public Works Director Eric Morris said that the city received notice of the leak Thursday morning. Once city crews turned natural gas service to the building off, an inspection of the equipment in the cafeteria found the leak.

This is the third day that there have been reports of a natural gas leak at the school in more than a week. According to previous coverage, the leak was first reported last week. Once service was terminated, an inspection of the cafeteria was conducted and service restored.

Two more calls were made on Tuesday in relation to another leak, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. Wednesday, District maintenance personnel attempted to repair the problem by replacing fittings.

The most recent report occurred Thursday morning. Morris said crews restored service after the equipment was removed from the cafeteria.