Burning List

FOXNews has just announced that there are “mass casualties” at the Kleen Energy Plant in Middletown, Connecticut. It is believed about 100 employees may have been at the plant at the time. I’ll be updating all day. Updates as available. See a video below.

MSNBC is reporting an “unknown” number of people dead and injured. CNN cites police officials saying two are dead.

The “massive explosion” at 1340 River Road, was apparently due to a gas line rupturing at about 11:00 – 11:30 AM EST today. The explosion could be felt all the way to Long Island Sound. Multiple emergency vehicles are on the scene.

An hour after the explosion and what is believed to be the Kleen Energy
Systems plant on River Road, emergency rescue personnel were continuing
to arrive by vehicle and helicopter. Helicopters were airlifting
victims to area hospitals.

Witnesses across the river from the plant say the main plant building seems to be “substantially leveled.”

The plant manager, Gordon Holk, was not at the plant when the explosion occurred. He said the plant is a 620-megawatt gas-fired power plant.

Middletown is south of the city of Hartford.

FOXNews: “Dozens of ambulances and fire trucks on the scene. The plant was under construction.

This minute on FOXNews 1:04 PM reports 2 dead and 250 injured. Another FOX report at 1:23 PM EST times about 100 injured. “Bodies were everywhere.”

From Ed McKeon at the Middletown Eye:

Former Common Council member Earle Roberts called and left a message
that about 11:15 an explosion nearly rocked his house off of it’s
foundation on nearby Bow Lane.  Roberts said that the force of the
explosion nearly tore the roof from his house, and sent a cloud of
brown debris into the air above the plant which is under construction,
and was scheduled to come on line later this year.

I felt the explosion myself at my house on Pearl Street.  It sounded as
if something had fallen off of my roof, and onto my porch. 

From CBS: “State police were sending detectives.”

Kleen Energy is “majority-owned” by Energy Investors Funds.

The company is constructing the facility to
feed electricity to Connecticut Light & Power under a 15-year
power purchase agreement, according to a report by Fitch Ratings
on Nov. 20.

 At least 50 construction workers were onsite.

In the video below, you’ll hear a witness living near Kleen Energy saying the explosion blew out her home’s windows. Neighbors say they “doing the firing of the engines,” and something went wrong.

Kleen Energy Middletown, CT Plant Explosion (video)

This post is a reprint of
a
post by Maggie M. Thornton that originally
appeared at Maggie’s Notebook.