MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — A massive explosion ripped through a natural-gas-fueled power plant under construction along the Connecticut River yesterday, killing five workers and injuring at least a dozen in a blast that shattered windows and cracked foundations and that was heard 20 miles away.
Rescue crews were sifting through the rubble last night, although officials believed everyone had been accounted for.
About 50 people were working in the area at the Kleen Power Plant complex when the fiery blast rocked the serene countryside at 11:17 a.m., officials said.
“We were 40 and 50 feet up [on scaffolding],” said a survivor who identified himself only as Ned.
After a blast, which “blew my hard hat off and glasses, all of a sudden, there was a whoosh! I saw people mangled. One guy said he saw a guy without his head.”
Middletown Deputy Fire Marshal Al Santostefano said crews were dismantling the devastated building “piece by piece.”
“I live five miles from this scene in Middletown, and around 11 o’clock, I felt a tremor in my house. I thought something happened somewhere. And then my pager went off,” he said.
Middletown Mayor Sebastian Giuliano called the explosion “an industrial accident,” ruling out terrorism.
“It felt almost like a sonic boom,” he said.
The nearest homes to the still-unopened plant — as well as Wesleyan University — are a mile away.
One woman said her windows were shattered, and video showed the foundation of another house cracked.
One of those killed was Raymond Dobratz, 58, from Old Saybrook. His son, Erik, called him “a great dad.”
An investigation into the blast will begin today.
The search for survivors was made more difficult by multiple contractors at the site.
The 620-megawatt plant was being built to produce energy primarily using natural gas.
Santostefano said workers from O&G Industries were purging the gas lines, in a procedure called a “blow-down,” when the blast occurred.