February 9, 2010

Five still unaccounted for after Connecticut power plant explosion

MIDDLETOWN, Conn.

About five people remained unaccounted for Feb. 8 for after a deadly explosion at an under-construction power plant, and a section of the site was too unstable to search, a fire official said Monday.

The blast Feb. 7 at the Kleen Energy Systems plant in Middletown, about 20 miles (30 kilometres) south of Hartford, killed at least five people and injured a dozen or more others. It happened as workers were clearing gas lines of air.

Safety board investigators have done extensive work on the issue of gas line purging since an explosion last year at a Slim Jim factory in North Carolina killed four people. They’ve identified other explosions caused by workers who were unsafely venting gas lines inside buildings.

Middletown Deputy Fire Marshal Al Santostefano said officials had verified the whereabouts of 95 per cent of the nearly 100 workers who were at the plant, citing conversations with contractors and labour union officials.

It was unclear whether the workers who remain unaccounted for are missing or haven’t been contacted yet by authorities.

Investigators returned to the scene Monday to try to begin determining the cause.

Kleen Energy Systems LLC began construction on the plant in February 2008. It had signed a deal with Connecticut Light and Power for the electricity produced by the plant, and would be one of the biggest built in New England in the last few years.

Energy Investors Funds, a private equity fund that indirectly owns a majority share in the power plant, said it was co-operating with authorities.

Associated Press

Print | Email | Comment