50 feared dead in gas fireball at power plant

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A huge explosion at a U.S. power plant was last night feared to have claimed the lives of up to 50 workers.

Many were thought to be buried in rubble after a gas pipe blast devastated the site.

The explosion, at 11.25am local time, sent a ball of fire 40-feet into the air.

Police would only confirm two deaths in the immediate aftermath, but emergency crews said the toll was certain to rise as at least 50 workers were inside.

Up to 250 people were thought to have been injured and the impact of the blast in Middletown, Connecticut, was felt as far as ten miles from the scene.
There are bodies everywhere,' one witness said.

Local councillor Gerald Daley said the gas-fired Kleen Energy plant was under construction and that yesterday was the first time its power-generating systems were tested.

Middletown police officer George Yepes said: 'We had a massive explosion, multiple injuries, possible fatalities, and an ongoing fire that the Fire Department is trying to control.'

Hospital spokesman Brian Albert said: 'The reports vary from a few, several to possibly as many as 50 dead.

'They are in the process of search and rescue.'

Deputy fire marshall Al Santostefano said he believed the explosion was caused by natural gas. It happened at the back of the biggest building, which he said had been destroyed.

'It's possible that there might be people trapped in the rubble. There was a lot of steel, from what I could see,' he said.
As many as 20 ambulances were at the scene as rescue crews pulled the injured from the wreckage.

Homes near the plant were damaged by the force of the blast, with residents reporting earthquake-like tremors. One said he heard a boom and then his house was hit so hard he thought someone had driven an ambulance into it.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security last night said there was no indication that terrorism was to blame for the blast.

The Kleen Energy plant was designed to operate on natural gas using a combined cycle turbine. Such turbines reuse waste heat produced in the power generation process, increasing the plant's efficiency.

The operators said that when supplies of natural gas were not available, the plant would use low-sulphur fuel oil.


Devastation: An aerial view of the aftermath of an explosion at the Kleen Energy Systems plant

Devastation: The wreckage of the partially built power plant where 50 may have died

Police have confirmed two fatalities at the power plant explosion in Connecticut but have warned the death toll could rise