Connecticut gas plant explodes, 2 reported dead

MIDDLETOWN, Conn (Reuters) - At least two people were killed and dozens injured on Sunday when a massive explosion rocked a gas power plant under construction in Connecticut, police said.

Ambulances from across the region and several helicopters rushed to the scene of the Kleen Energy Systems LLC plant on the banks of the Connecticut River.

Officer Kevin White of Middletown Police said there were "mass casualties" but could not be precise. Firefighter Cliff Seifert confirmed numerous casualties.

Medical rescue personnel said two people were confirmed dead and at least 100 injured, four critically, according to the Hartford Courant newspaper website.

Eyewitnesses reported flames shooting up and black smoke billowing after the blast shattered the Sunday-morning calm.

A fire official said 51 construction workers were believed to be on site at the time. Some might still be trapped under the rubble, and a search-and-rescue team was trying to find them, he said.

There was no further danger to the public, the official told reporters. Local hospitals were on mass casualty alert.

The explosion happened just before 11:30 a.m. (16:30 GMT) during tests at the site, a 620 megawatt gas-fired power plant which was due to come online in the summer.

Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell was on her way to Middletown and had activated the state emergency operations centre in Hartford, the state capital, her office said.

The Department of Public Health was providing tents for medical triage and shelter with temperatures hovering near freezing point and a brisk wind.

Middletown, a college town, is 23 miles (37 km) south of Hartford.

Residents felt the blast, which some said hit with the force of an earthquake, for miles.

"The whole house shook. I didn't know what it was, whether it was the house or the water heater or what. Everything shook," said Cornelia Hull, who lives about a mile (0.6 km) from the plant.

Some local residents reported windows blown out by the force of the explosion.

The blast was felt as far away as East Haven, a distance of 30 miles (48 km).

"I felt the ground shake and thought a tree had fallen nearby," said Ethan Goller, who at the time was working in his garage in Ivoryton, 20 miles (12 km) from Middletown.

Publicly available information compiled during the Kleen Energy plant approval process said that plant would operate on natural gas using a combined cycle turbine.

Such turbines reuse waste heat produced in the power generation process, increasing the plant's efficiency.

Contracting firm O&G Industries Inc. of Torrington, Connecticut, is overseeing all local, state, and federal permitting, engineering, and construction.

(Reporting by Alan Elsner, Doina Chiacu, Toni Clarke, Dan Trotta, Ros Krasny, and Bryson Hull; Writing by Alan Elsner)

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