Updated: "Bodies Everywhere" Mass Casualties As CT Kleen Energy Plant Explodes

From an eyewitness account: not sure what to make of it.

"There are bodies everywhere," a witness said. Another witness said many victims may be buried in rubble.

Some images during construction - w/ overheads.

Image from a  distance, unclear when it was taken.

At least 2 confirmed dead.

Update:

There were about 100 people inside the plant today where they were supposed to be testing some upgrades made recently to the facility.

About 30 ambulances have responded to the scene, as well as the two Lifestar helicopters.

A witness said the explosion caused a "massive ball of fire 40 to 50 feet into the air." Homeland security has also been called to the scene.

People miles away from the plant, some in Meriden and Wallingford, are reporting they felt the earth shake as a result of the explosion.

This could get very ugly. The massive explosion was reported as far as ten miles away. Meanwhile, it's thought that a hundred workers may have been at the plant at the time. The injured have begun arriving at area hospitals. Most comprehensive report I can find for now at link above.

MIDDLETOWN - Witnesses and emergency response authorities said as many as 100 people were injured and an undetermined number may have died when a massive explosion, which homeowners more than 10 miles away and mistook for an earth quake, blew up a power plant being built on the Connecticut River in the southern section of Middletown.

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.

Neighbors of the plant said as many as 100 employees may have been working there when the explosion took place. Confirmed information about damage and injuries from authorities was difficult to obtain.

A resident of East Hampton almost directly across the river from the plant said he heard a load booming explosion at about 11 a.m. Immediately afterward his house was hit with a concussion that caused him to believe someone had driven an automobile into his home. The concussion interrupted services at a nearby East Hampton church, causing parishioners to speculate that the area had just experienced an earthquake.

Other witnesses said they felt the concussion as far away as North Branford and Durham.

A neighbor of the plant said there were quantities of natural gas on the site.

A witness looking at the destruction from across the river in Portland said the main plant building seemed to have been substantially leveled.

State police fire and explosive investigators were rushing to the scene at around noon Sunday, as well as state police urban rescue crews, which would search rubble for victims.

Comments

[Susan]

It's unclear how many injuries there are but police say there are possible fatalities. many injuries http://usspost.com/connecticut-blast-causes-mass-casualties-usspost-5187/

[WBestPresidentEver]

Yeah, I guess this is what happens when you insist on nothing but "GREEN JOBS" in this country. In order to work at all these New Jobs that Obama moma wants to create YOU HAVE TO HAVE EXPERIENCE in what you are supose to be doing. Natural gas is very dangerous. Yeah Obama...tell all these companies to hire everyone they can with NO EXPERIENCE and this is what will happen. HOW SAD.

[Xmas]

My friends mother reported she felt an earthquake in North Branford...To quote her Facebook:

"How weird?! Was that an earthquake?...or was Tilcon blasting today?"

Tilcon is the quarry down the street from her house.

[blueguitarbob]

The Kleen Energy Systems power plant in Middletown has been in the works since at least 2002 and has nothing to do with Obama's current "green jobs" initiatives.

There is also no evidence to indicate that the plant construction contractors were inexperienced. There's nothing political about this incident. It just is a tragic industrial accident. Our prayers should go out to the workers and rescue personnel.

[Norman Rogers]

WBestPresidentEver | Sunday, February 07, 2010 at 03:29 PM

You are a flaming jackass, sir.

Those are good American workers who have been killed or injured today, and you can't hold your worthless tongue? You can't pause for a decent moment?

What a disgrace of a human being you are.

[Tim]

To: WBestPresidentEver

I have been on site here for extended periods of time before they raised it to grade about 6 months ago. These are all qualified workers and are union trained. The whole "experience" thing does not even come into play because most plants are built with local unions, not a 1000 person crew that flies around the country. How many plants in the area do you think are stealing the good workers from the construction of this plant. I must say that I am not an Obama fan myself, but you are a dumbass. Your comment was posted with little to no concrete support for your argument.