Sunday, February 07, 2010

Breaking: ‘Huge’ explosion reported at Conn. power plant

No cause known yet.

MSNBC:

‘Huge’ explosion reported at Conn. power plant
At least two people killed, emergency officials say
BREAKING NEWS
msnbc.com news services
updated 1:17 p.m. ET, Sun., Feb. 7, 2010

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - At least two people were killed in a large explosion at a gas power plant on Sunday, officials report.

CNN, citing police officials, reported at least two people were dead and the death toll was expected to rise.

Black smoke was seen billowing from the Kleen Energy Systems plant along the banks of the Connecticut River.

Neighbors of the plant said as many as 100 employees may have been working there when the explosion took place, the Hartford Courant reported.

Middletown police told NBC News that the explosion was 'huge' and there were multiple injuries and fatalities. The fire department said they were dispatching crews to the scene.

Plant general manger Gordon Holk confirmed injuries to WVIT-TV, but would not speculate on the number of casualties. He said the plant is a 620 megawatt gas-fired power plant.

The explosion at about 11:30 a.m. could be heard from up to 10 miles away, and some mistook it for an earthquake.

A local resident, Bernadette Nyland, told WTNH TV she was in her yard when the explosion occurred.

"They were doing the firing of the engines this morning and so something went wrong and it blew up and flames came shooting up almost as tall as that stack," she told the station.

Middletown, a college town, is 23 miles south of the city of Hartford.

2 comments:

revereridesagain said...

Call me picky, but you have to wonder about a company that calls itself "Kleen" Energy Systems. Cutesie spelling and 620 megawatt gas fired power plants just seem like a bad mix.

Pastorius said...

Aren't they owned by the same people who own Kleenex?