At least 2 killed in Connecticut power plant explosion

At least two people have been killed in a massive explosion at a power plant in the state of Connecticut on Sunday, with the number of fatalities expected to rise, police say.

“The death of two people have been confirmed,” admitted the Middletown police Sgt. Chuck Jacobucci, “but the search is still going on for more people possibly dead or injured in the aftermath of the gas line big blast,” reported CNN.

However, unofficial reports say that as many as 50 people have been killed in the explosion.

According to Jacobucci more than 100 emergency service units, including fire, police and emergency management, have been dispatched to the scene to deal with the explosion.

Based on a report by the Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, about 15 miles from Hartford, Connecticut, the health facility has been receiving casualties from the blast which took place around 11:30 a.m. at the Kleen Power Plant.

The houses in the vicinity of the site have been damaged and the explosion was felt in towns as far as 15 miles from Middletown.

“They were doing the firing of the engines this morning and so something went wrong and it blew up and flames came shooting up almost as tall as that stack,” local resident, Bernadette Nyland, told WTNH.