‘casualties’ as massive explosion rocks Middletown CT

[MosinNagant]

Middletown, Conn. -- Police in Middletown said there was an explosion with mass casualties just before 11:30 a.m. at the Kleen Energy plant on River Road.

Sources said at least 250 people were injured with at least two people confirmed dead.

St. Francis and Yale-New Haven Hospitals were on disaster standby to take in injured people from the scene.

Fire departments from around the area are responding.

WFSB has received calls from people from as far as Higganum, Meriden, Prospect and Naugatuck who said that their homes shook from the force of the explosion.

The station has several crews at the scene and WFSB will have team coverage .

http://www.wfsb.com/news/22491279/detail.html . http://www.courant.com/community/middle ... 2195.story

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - Early reports were that a natural gas leak could have caused a devastating explosion Sunday morning that killed two and injured as many as 100 at a power plant being built south of the city on the Connecticut River.

Homeowners more than 10 miles away said the 11 a.m. explosion at the Kleen Energy Systems power plant on River Road created a shock wave so intense they mistakenly thought the central part of the state had experienced an earthquake.

Medical rescue personnel said two were dead at the site and, of 100 so injured, four were in critical condition.

"There are bodies everywhere," a witness said. Another witness said many victims may be buried in rubble.

Middletown deputy fire marshal Al Santostefano said at 1:15 p.m. there were "confirmed fatalities" but that he did not know how many. He said there were at least 50 construction workers on the site.

"It was a massive explosion" he said.

The plant, which has been under construction for years, was nearing completion. It was designed to generate electricity by burning natural gas. Neighbors said the explosion was the result of an operating test.

Santostefano said the explosion was related in some fashion to natural gas, but that the cause was still under investigation. He said the explosion appears to have occurred when operators attempted a "blow down" of natural gas pipelines, a procedure that involves the purging of gas from the pipelines..

[survivalist96]

I heard that on the radio, my first thought was terrorism when they said massive casualties, but I'm hoping it was a mechanical problem. My heart goes out to those that lost loved ones.

[spiffy]

Made the news here in the UK too, my prayers are with those affected.

[BullFrogtango]

The plant is not producing any electricity as of yet, it was my understanding it was still under construction and not live yet? If this were the case then terrorism would be ruled out...

BFT