Sunday, February 7, 2010

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Official: No one known missing in Conn. blast

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. -- A fire official in Middletown, Conn., says no one is known to be missing after an explosion at a power plant killed 5 people and injured a dozen or more.

Deputy Fire Marshal Al Santostefano tells The Associated Press that crews will spend all night Sunday going through debris but there is nobody firefighters believe is unaccounted for.

It had been feared that people were buried in the rubble. More than 50 people were in the area at the time of the explosion. Multiple contractors were working on the project, making it difficult to account for everyone.

The explosion occurred during a test of natural gas lines. It sounded like a sonic boom. It blew out walls of the under-construction power plant and set off a fire.

The power plant was approved back in 2002 and has been under construction for the past three years.

The plant was scheduled to start providing electricity for about 550,000 homes in June.

The deputy fire marshal says the investigation of the cause of the blast will begin Monday morning.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)