Five people are known to be dead and at least 12 injured following a powerful explosion Sunday at a natural gas plant under construction in Middletown, Conn., the mayor's office said.
Middletown deputy fire marshal Al Santostefano said crews were still searching the rubble for survivors of the explosion, which happened at 11:17 a.m. ET.
Smoke comes from the the Kleen Energy plant on River Road in Middletown, Conn., Sunday Feb. 7, 2010, as emergency vehicles make their way to the scene of an explosion there. Multiple people have died in an explosion at a power plant in Connecticut and an unknown number of people are injured.
AP Photo/The Middletown Press, Catherine Avalone
AP
The Day in Photos
PETA member Emily Lavender, 21, of B.C. had a pie shoved in her face in downtown St. John's Friday.
Speedskater Clara Hughes, of Winnipeg, Man., poses with a Canadian flag after being named Canada's flag bearer for the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Winter Olympics in Richmond, B.C., on Friday January 29, 2010. The Games open February 12.
Actress Anne Hathaway reacts as she is kissed by Clifford Murray, left, president of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals and Derek Mueller, right, vice president, as they celebrate her as Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals Woman of the Year in Cambridge, Mass. Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010.
In this photo dated Monday, Jan. 25, 2010, provided by the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management IMGW, a lonely dog is seen floating on ice floe 15 miles off the Polish Baltic Sea coast near Gdynia, Poland. The dog was rescued by sailors from the "Baltica" ship.
In this photo taken Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010 and made available Thursday, Jan 28, 2010 Adam Buczynski carries a dog found floating cold and alone on an ice floe 15 miles off the Polish Baltic Sea coast in Gdynia, Poland. Buczynski, a sailor from the ship "Baltic" pulled out the dog from the ice floe.
This combination of images shows an undated self portrait of Leonardo Da Vinci, left, and the Mona Lisa. A group of Italian scientists is seeking permission from French authorities to dig up Leonardo Da Vinci's body to conduct carbon and DNA testing in order to solve the mysteries of how he died, and whether the Mona Lisa was actually a self-portrait in disguise.
This Oct. 2005 photo shows the reported tomb of Leonardo da Vinci at Saint-Hubert Chapel at the Amboise castle, in the Loire valley, western France. A group of Italian scientists is seeking permission from French authorities to dig up da Vinci's body to conduct carbon and DNA testing in order to solve the mysteries of how he died, and whether the Mona Lisa was actually a self-portrait in disguise.
Philadelphia Flyers forward Simon Gagne, left, lands after colliding with Atlanta Thrashers goalie Johan Hedberg, of Sweden, in the third period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010, in Philadelphia. Atlanta won 4-3.
Copies of J.D. Salinger's classic novel "The Catcher in the Rye" as well as his volume of short stories called "Nine Stories" are seen at the Orange Public Library in Orange Village, Ohio on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010. Salinger, the legendary author, youth hero and fugitive from fame whose "The Catcher in the Rye" shocked and inspired a world he increasingly shunned, died Wednesday at the age of 91. At left is a 1951 photo of the author.
An anti-war protester wearing a Tony Blair mask stands behind wooden bars in a mock jail as he demonstrates outside the Iraq War Inquiry as former British Prime Minster Tony Blair is called to give evidence in London , Friday, Jan. 29, 2010.
"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," Santostefano said.
Mayor Sebastian Giuliano said it's difficult to tell how many people were in the power plant at the time of the blast because multiple contractors were working on it and had their own employee lists.
Officials had said earlier that 50 construction workers were in the section of the plant where the explosion happened.
Santostefano said he didn't know what caused the blast, which shook houses up to 16 kilometres away.
The 620-megawatt plant was being built to produce energy, primarily using natural gas. Santostefano said workers were purging the gas lines, a procedure he called a "blow-down," when the explosion occurred.
Middlesex Hospital spokesman Brian Albert said one seriously injured person was transferred to Hartford Hospital and doctors were evaluating another person who might also be moved to Hartford for more intensive care.
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.
Hartford Hospital said two patients were brought directly there after the blast, in addition to the one transferred later from Middlesex.
Officials had not released the conditions of the injured people by Sunday evening, although they said at least a dozen people had injuries ranging from minor to very serious.
Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell visited the scene after calling out a specialized search-and-rescue team to help firefighters.
The state's Emergency Operations Center in Hartford also was activated, and the Department of Public Health was called to provide tents at the scene for shelter and medical triage.
Rell said the emergency teams were expected to work through the night and into Monday.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is mobilizing an investigation team from Colorado and hopes to have the workers on the scene Monday, spokesman Daniel Horowitz said.
Safety board investigators have done extensive work on the issue of gas line purging since an explosion last year at a factory in North Carolina killed four people.
Just last week, the board voted to recommend that national and international code writers strengthen their guidelines to require outdoor venting of gas lines or an approved safety plan to do it indoors.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper holds a case of Yuengling beer presented to him outside his home by U.S. Ambassador David Jacobson. The beer was part of a wager the PM had with President Obama on the outcome of the Olympic gold medal hockey game which Canada won.
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