AT least five people were killed and 12 injured on Sunday in a massive gas explosion that tore apart an unfinished US power plant and rattled windows kilometres away.
However officials cautioned that they did not know how many people were in the Kleen Energy plant, which was still being constructed, and therefore they could not immediately account for everyone who may have been present.
"We know that 12 individuals have been injured. Five individuals are known to have lost their lives," Sebastian Giuliano, the mayor of Middletown in Connecticut, told a news conference.
Terrorism had been ruled out, according to the mayor, who said the accident happened during a testing procedure.
Rescue workers helped by search dogs scoured the rubble at the plant where a brief, but fierce fire following the accident sent flames and black smoke billowing skyward.
However officials cautioned that they did not know how many people were in the Kleen Energy plant, which was still being constructed, and therefore they could not immediately account for everyone who may have been present.
"We know that 12 individuals have been injured. Five individuals are known to have lost their lives," Sebastian Giuliano, the mayor of Middletown in Connecticut, told a news conference.
Terrorism had been ruled out, according to the mayor, who said the accident happened during a testing procedure.
Rescue workers helped by search dogs scoured the rubble at the plant where a brief, but fierce fire following the accident sent flames and black smoke billowing skyward.
"There was like a fireball going up and a lot of smoke. The explosion was strong enough to break one of our windows. Our neighbors had also their windows destroyed," said Scott Harmann, 44, whose father lives in a house just across the Connecticut River from the plant.
Nearby resident Mike Woronoff said he heard "a loud boom" at his house some 3.2 kilometres from the plant.
"I have friends that live 15 miles from here that called me because they could hear it. Then we could see the smoke. It went on for a mile and a half, then stopped," he said.
Amid confusion over the number of casualties local officials immediately warned of the potential for carnage.
"There was a massive explosion, there are multiple injuries and possible fatalities," Middletown police spokesman George Yepes said soon after the blast.
"The reports vary from a few to possibly as many as 50 dead," Brian Albert from the Middlesex hospital, which was treating several of those injured, said in the immediate aftermath.
Uncertainty as to the final toll seemed set to continue until contractors working on the site were able to compile an accurate roster of those present.
A Middletown fire official said it was "initially thought there was approximately 50 employees" there at the time and that "it's unknown how many people are missing".
The 620-megawatt Kleen Energy plant, said to be one of the largest power facilities to be planned in New England for many years, was still under construction.
Witnesses told the local Hartford Courant newspaper that as many as 100 people were injured in the blast at the Kleen Energy plant on the outskirts of Middletown on the Connecticut River, home to about 40,000 people.
As helicopters, ambulances and fire trucks rushed to the scene and a massive search and rescue operation was launched, officials were reluctant to say how many might have died, but a large number of fatalities was feared.
"The reports vary from a few, several, to possibly as many as 50 dead," Brian Albert from the Middlesex hospital, which was treating several of those injured in the blast at the Kleen Energy plant, said.
"They are in the process of search and rescue," Albert said, adding that the Middlesex was treating six patients and a seventh had been transferred to the nearby Hartford hospital, which confirmed it was also handling injured.
Al Santostefano, the deputy fire marshal in Middletown, said 50 construction workers were in the section of the power plant where the explosion happened.
He said he did not know what caused the explosion.
"They are taking the building apart piece-by-piece now, the part that collapsed and came in, they are taking that apart in sections piece-by-piece, very carefully," he said.
The 620-megawatt plant was being built to produce energy primarily using natural gas.
Two people were treated and released, and eight others were being treated for broken bones, abdominal injuries, blunt force trauma and other kinds of injuries consistent with being caught in an explosion, Albert said.
They did not expect to receive any more patients, he said Sunday afternoon, about four hours after the explosion.
"There are bodies everywhere," one witness was quoted as saying. Others said victims might be buried in the rubble of the plant, which was still under construction.
Dozens of emergency personnel swarmed around the sprawling energy complex after the explosion, which rocked nearby residential housing at 11:17am Sunday local time, 3.30am this morning Melbourne time.
Some media outlets quoted employees at the plant speculating fewer staff than normal were at work as it's Superbowl Sunday in America.
The Hartford Courant reported that 20 ambulances were at the scene and said helicopters were airlifting some of the victims to nearby hospitals.
While US media reports talked of "mass casualties" at the gas-fired energy plant in Middletown, a spokeswoman at the main Middlesex Hospital nearby said they had not seen any deaths and had received less than 20 injured so far.
The gas-fired energy production plant is located on the outskirts of the city on the edge of the river, but close to some residential housing.
A company called Energy Investors Funds recently acquired 80 per cent of the Kleen Energy, which had been due to go online sometime in 2010.
Nearby resident Mike Woronoff said he heard "a loud boom" at his house some 3.2 kilometres from the plant.
"I have friends that live 15 miles from here that called me because they could hear it. Then we could see the smoke. It went on for a mile and a half, then stopped," he said.
Amid confusion over the number of casualties local officials immediately warned of the potential for carnage.
"There was a massive explosion, there are multiple injuries and possible fatalities," Middletown police spokesman George Yepes said soon after the blast.
"The reports vary from a few to possibly as many as 50 dead," Brian Albert from the Middlesex hospital, which was treating several of those injured, said in the immediate aftermath.
Uncertainty as to the final toll seemed set to continue until contractors working on the site were able to compile an accurate roster of those present.
A Middletown fire official said it was "initially thought there was approximately 50 employees" there at the time and that "it's unknown how many people are missing".
The 620-megawatt Kleen Energy plant, said to be one of the largest power facilities to be planned in New England for many years, was still under construction.
Witnesses told the local Hartford Courant newspaper that as many as 100 people were injured in the blast at the Kleen Energy plant on the outskirts of Middletown on the Connecticut River, home to about 40,000 people.
As helicopters, ambulances and fire trucks rushed to the scene and a massive search and rescue operation was launched, officials were reluctant to say how many might have died, but a large number of fatalities was feared.
"The reports vary from a few, several, to possibly as many as 50 dead," Brian Albert from the Middlesex hospital, which was treating several of those injured in the blast at the Kleen Energy plant, said.
"They are in the process of search and rescue," Albert said, adding that the Middlesex was treating six patients and a seventh had been transferred to the nearby Hartford hospital, which confirmed it was also handling injured.
Al Santostefano, the deputy fire marshal in Middletown, said 50 construction workers were in the section of the power plant where the explosion happened.
He said he did not know what caused the explosion.
"They are taking the building apart piece-by-piece now, the part that collapsed and came in, they are taking that apart in sections piece-by-piece, very carefully," he said.
The 620-megawatt plant was being built to produce energy primarily using natural gas.
Two people were treated and released, and eight others were being treated for broken bones, abdominal injuries, blunt force trauma and other kinds of injuries consistent with being caught in an explosion, Albert said.
They did not expect to receive any more patients, he said Sunday afternoon, about four hours after the explosion.
"There are bodies everywhere," one witness was quoted as saying. Others said victims might be buried in the rubble of the plant, which was still under construction.
Dozens of emergency personnel swarmed around the sprawling energy complex after the explosion, which rocked nearby residential housing at 11:17am Sunday local time, 3.30am this morning Melbourne time.
Some media outlets quoted employees at the plant speculating fewer staff than normal were at work as it's Superbowl Sunday in America.
The Hartford Courant reported that 20 ambulances were at the scene and said helicopters were airlifting some of the victims to nearby hospitals.
While US media reports talked of "mass casualties" at the gas-fired energy plant in Middletown, a spokeswoman at the main Middlesex Hospital nearby said they had not seen any deaths and had received less than 20 injured so far.
The gas-fired energy production plant is located on the outskirts of the city on the edge of the river, but close to some residential housing.
A company called Energy Investors Funds recently acquired 80 per cent of the Kleen Energy, which had been due to go online sometime in 2010.
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