AGENCIES, 8 February 2010, 12:26am IST
WASHINGTON: As many as 50 people may have been killed in an explosion on Sunday at a US energy plant in Connecticut, a hospital spokesman told

“The reports vary from a few, several to possibly as many as 50 dead,” Brian Albert from the Middlesex hospital, which was treating several of those injured in the blast, told AFP.

“They are in the process of search and rescue,” Albert said, adding the Middlesex was currently treating six patients and one other had been transferred to the nearby Hartford hospital.

More than 100 emergency service units, including fire, police and emergency management, were responding, he said.

Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, about 15 miles from Hartford, Connecticut, said it was receiving patients from the blast, which occurred about 11:30 am (local time) at the Kleen Power Plant.

The plant’s general manager, Gordon Holk, confirmed the blast caused casualties, but wasn’t sure how many.

Middletown, a college town, is 23 miles (37 km) south of the city of Hartford. Emergency vehicles and at least one helicopter were called to the scene.

The explosion was felt in neighboring towns as far away as East Haven, a distance of 30 miles (48 km), and black smoke was visible for miles (km) around.

A plant official told a local NBC TV station the facility was a 620 megawatt gas-fired power plant.