.:: SAMAA - At least 5 dead, several hurt in Kleen energy plant blast

MIDDLETOWN: An explosion at a power plant under construction in the northeastern US state of Connecticut killed at least five people and injured a dozen or more on Sunday.

The blast at the Kleen Energy Systems plant in Middletown, some 20 miles (32 kilometres) south of Hartford, could be heard for miles around.

Several walls were blown out and a fire was started by the explosion, which happened during a test of natural gas lines.

A group of anxious friends and relatives gathered outside the plant on Sunday, hoping for news of workers believed to be inside the plant.

"It's horrible, we have some people up there, they have little kids at home and we lost them," plant worker Paul Venti said.

Middletown Mayor Sebastian Giuliano said at a news conference that five people were known to have died and at least 12 were injured.

The cause of the blast was "a gas explosion," Giuliano said, ruling out "terrorism."

"The plant was not fully on line. It was undergoing a test of the gas line when the explosion occurred," he added.

Giuliano said that the majority of the workers at the plant had automatically been evacuated ahead of the test.

Deputy Fire Marshal Al Santostefano on Sunday night said that no one was known to be missing amid the rubble from the damaged plant.

Still, crews planned to spend all night going through debris in case there were any more victims.

Officials said at least a dozen people had injuries ranging from minor to very serious.

The explosion left huge pieces of metal that once encased the plant peeling off its sides.

A large swath of the structure was blackened and surrounded by debris, but the building, its roof and its two smokestacks were still standing.

The state's Emergency Operations Centre in Hartford was activated, and the Department of Public Health was called to provide tents at the scene for shelter and medical triage.

At Middletown City Hall, Red Cross volunteers set up an assistance centre for the families of those affected by the incident.

The 620-megawatt plant was being built to produce energy primarily using natural gas.

Santostefano said workers for the construction company, O&G Industries, were purging the gas lines, a procedure he called a "blow-down," when the explosion happened.

Kleen Energy Systems LLC began construction on the power plant in February 2008.

It had signed a capacity deal with Connecticut Light and Power for the electricity produced by the plant.

Construction was scheduled to be completed by mid-2010. AGENCIES