Rescuers hunted Monday for survivors or more dead in the rubble of a U.S. power plant after a massive gas explosion tore it apart and killed at least five workers as terrorism has been ruled out as the cause of the blast.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) in Washington said it would send a seven-person team to the blast site. The team is expected on the scene midday Monday, the independent investigative agency said in a statement.
Officials cautioned that they did not know how many people were in the Kleen Energy plant, which was still being built, and therefore they could not immediately account for everyone who may have been present.
We know that 12 individuals have been injured. Five individuals are known to have lost their lives
"We know that 12 individuals have been injured. Five individuals are known to have lost their lives," Sebastian Giuliano, the mayor of Middletown, Connecticut, told a news conference.
Terrorism had been ruled out, according to the mayor, who said the accident, which broke the windows of nearby residential buildings and shook houses miles (kilometers) away, happened during a testing procedure.
Rescue workers helped by search dogs scoured the rubble at the plant where a brief, but fierce fire following the accident sent flames and black smoke billowing skyward.
Confusion over casualties
The reports vary from a few to possibly as many as 50 dead
Amid confusion over the number of casualties local officials immediately warned of the potential for carnage.
"There was a massive explosion, there are multiple injuries and possible fatalities," Middletown police spokesman George Yepes told AFP soon after the blast.
"The reports vary from a few to possibly as many as 50 dead," Brian Albert from the Middlesex hospital, which was treating several of those injured, said in the immediate aftermath.
Uncertainty as to the final toll seemed set to continue until contractors working on the site were able to compile an accurate roster of those present.
A Middletown fire official said it was "initially thought there was approximately 50 employees" there at the time and that "it's unknown how many people are missing."
Giuliano said "there could be anywhere from 100 to 200 people working on the site on any given day. Exactly what's that number, that's the starting point and that's the number they can't nail down today.
"Fortunately what I was told is that most of the people working there were evacuated from the building when they ran the test," he said.
A local resident told the Hartford Courant newspaper that the explosion took place during a test of the plant's power generating systems.
The 620-megawatt Kleen Energy plant, said to be one of the largest power facilities to be planned in New England for many years, was still under construction.
The future gas-fired energy production plant is located on the outskirts of Middletown, close to residential housing.
A company called Energy Investors Funds recently acquired 80 percent of the plant, which had been due to go online sometime in 2010.
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