MyFOXDetroit.com – Mass casualties and multiple injuries were reported Sunday after a huge explosion at a Connecticut power plant, police confirmed to Fox News.
Al Santostefano, the deputy fire marshal in Middletown, told The Associated Press the explosion happened at 11:17 a.m. Sunday at the Kleen Energy Systems plant there and portions of the building blew away.
“There are bodies everywhere,” a witness told the Hartford Courant.
Medical rescue personnel told the newspaper there were at least two fatalities, and at least 100 people injured — including four in critical condition. The paper also reported that as many as 20 ambulances were on the scene.
Santostefano said 50 workers were inside the building at the time of the explosion.
Dozens of witnesses said black smoke could be seen for miles.
A resident of East Hampton, Conn. — directly across the river from the plant — told Fox 61 that he heard a loud booming explosion at about 11 a.m.
Immediately afterward, the witness said his house shook, leading him to believe someone had driven a car into his home, the station reported. The incident reportedly interrupted services at a nearby East Hampton church.
Police are advising everyone to stay away from the area.
The power plant was reportedly undergoing construction at the time of the explosion, and authorities said they do not know what was behind the blast.
