Power plant blast kills 5; investigation planned

February 8, 2010 10:14 a.m. EST

Power plant explosion

Search-and-rescue teams had scoured most of the blast site by about 2:30 a.m. ET Monday, according to Deputy Fire Marshal Al Santostefano. One small portion was deemed unsafe to enter, he said.Middletown, Connecticut (CNN) -- State and federal investigators were expected to launch an investigation Monday at a power plant where an explosion killed at least five people and injured more than two dozen, authorities said.

Authorities were meeting Monday morning to decide how to proceed.

Officials still do not know exactly how many people were on site at the time of the blast, so they cannot determine whether anyone is missing, Santostefano said.

Sunday's blast took place at the under-construction Kleen Power Plant, while plant workers purged a natural gas pipeline, Middletown Mayor Sebastian Giuliano said.

Kleen Energy Systems said on its Web site that the plan is gas-fired but can use other fuels. It was expected to produce 620 megawatts of power and would be one of the largest power plants in New England.

Residents up to 20 miles away reported hearing the blast about 11:19 a.m. ET.

The plant had been expected to go online this summer, Giuliano said.

overage from CNN affiliate WFSBSantostefano initially said 50 to 60 people, most of them construction workers, were working at the time. He said he thought most of those had escaped the blast.

WTNH.com coverage of Middletown explosion

Middlesex Hospital in Middletown received 26 patients from the incident, its Web site said. One seriously injured patient was flown to Hartford Hospital and another was transferred to Yale-New Haven Hospital. Two of the injured were admitted to Middlesex Hospital, while the remaining 22 weren't expected to spend the night.

Emergency crews were delayed entering the plant, because it was on fire and the natural gas had to be turned off, Santostefano said.

People miles away reported hearing or feeling the blast.

"It felt like the house was shaking," said Peter Moore of Durham, about 10 miles away.

Moore said his mother, who lives in Woodbridge, about 20 miles from the plant, said it "sounded like someone pounded on the back door a couple of times."

"It was almost like an earthquake," nearby resident Lynn Townsend told CNN affiliate WTNH. She said she heard the explosion and went outside to see "a very big, bright orange flame" between the plant's two smokestacks, and dialed 911.

"It really shook the house," she said. "Everybody was scared. The kids started to cry."