Poochandi

February 08, 2010

At least five people were killed and 12 injured on Sunday in a massive gas explosion that tore apart an unfinished US power plant and rattled windows miles (kilometers) away.

However officials cautioned that they did not know how many people were in the Kleen Energy plant, which was still being constructed, and therefore they could not immediately account for everyone who may have been present.

"We know that 12 individuals have been injured. Five individuals are known to have lost their lives," Sebastian Giuliano, the mayor of Middletown in Connecticut, told a news conference.

Terrorism had been ruled out, according to the mayor, who said the accident happened during a testing procedure.

Rescue workers helped by search dogs scoured the rubble at the plant where a brief, but fierce fire following the accident sent flames and black smoke billowing skyward.

"There was like a fireball going up and a lot of smoke. The explosion was strong enough to break one of our windows. Our neighbors had also their windows destroyed," said Scott Harmann, 44, whose father lives in a house just across the Connecticut River from the plant.