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Connecticut power plant - Source: Reuters
At least five people were killed and 12 injured when a massive
explosion rocked a large gas-fired power plant being built in
Middletown, Connecticut, the town's mayor said.
Fire officials said a natural gas leak caused the blast during
testing at the Kleen Energy Systems LLC facility, which was 95%
complete and due to come online this summer as the largest
electricity generating plant in New England.
As many as 200 workers were at the site on any given day and the
exact number of dead and injured would not be known until each
contractor provided a list of employees, Middletown Mayor Sebastian
Giuliano told a press conference.
Search and rescue teams with dogs and several fire departments were
still sifting through the rubble after the explosion and fire,
Giuliano said.
Kleen Energy Systems is majority-owned by Energy Investors Funds
Group, a private equity firm.
Witnesses said flames shot up and black smoke billowed out when the
blast shattered the Monday morning calm. Some people reported
windows blown out and the force was felt as far away as East Haven,
a distance of 48 km.
"The whole house shook. I didn't know what it was, whether it was
the house or the water heater or what," said Cornelia Hull, who
lives across the Connecticut river in Portland.
Dozens of ambulances from across the region and several helicopters
rushed to the scene.
Eleven injured people were taken to Middlesex Hospital in nearby
Middletown, said Peg Arico, manager of public relations at the
hospital. Two were later discharged and one was sent to a hospital
in the state capital, Hartford, which also received a patient
directly from the scene.
Those admitted had injuries consistent with impact, including
broken bones.
The explosion happened just before 11:30am (5:30am NZT) during
tests at the plant, a 620-megawatt gas-fired facility. The fire
took about an hour to extinguish.
"It was connected with the gas, the natural gas that was coming
into the building. That was part of the involvement," said Al
Santostefano, deputy fire marshal in Middletown.
Giuliano said there was no threat from substances getting into the
atmosphere or of future explosions.
"Sonic boom"
The blast happened as workers were purging the gas lines, a process
that is done repeatedly with pressurised air to remove
debris.
Giuliano, who was coming out of church when he heard "a sonic
boom," said many of the workers were evacuated before the gas lines
were purged but it was not yet clear how many remained in the
building.
State emergency official Betsy Hard said local authorities had
asked the state for help. The Department of Public Health put up
tents at the scene for medical triage and shelter with temperatures
below the freezing mark and brisk winds blowing.
The Kleen Energy plant was designed to operate on natural gas using
a combined cycle turbine. Such turbines reuse waste heat produced
during the generation process, increasing the plant's
efficiency.
Much of the plant's power generation equipment was supplied by
Germany's Siemens AG and was being installed but was not yet
operating, Siemens spokeswoman Melanie Forbrick said.
"This was a very tragic accident and our deepest sympathy goes out
to all those who have been affected," Forbrick said, adding the one
Siemens employee working at the site was safe.
Contractor O&G Industries, of Torrington, Connecticut, is
overseeing all local, state, and federal permitting, engineering
and construction of the project.
There had been no safety violations or accidents previously
reported at the site, Giuliano said.
He said it was not clear what had caused the gas to leak but he
ruled out terrorism or vandalism.
"Nobody set a bomb off," he said. "It wasn't
intentional."
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