The Sunday morning explosion at the Kleen Energy Systems plant killed five people and injured at least 12. Officials searched for more victims into the night, but the effort was suspended around 2:30 a.m. when it was determined that the debris in a collapsed area of the plant might be unstable and dangerous to rescue workers.
Jessica Hill, AP
The Kleen Energy Systems plant in Middletown, Conn., is pictured after Sunday's deadly explosion.
The city's mayor, Sebastian Giuliano, said in a statement today that everybody who had been working Sunday was now accounted for. Earlier in the day, officials said about five people could still be missing. No recovery work was done today because the site was too unsafe, the mayor said.
An investigation team mobilized by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board is slated to arrive at midday from Colorado to help conduct the investigation into the powerful blast, which was heard and felt for miles around Middletown, which is less than 20 miles south of Hartford.
The explosion rocked Middletown at 11:17 a.m. Sunday. "It felt almost like a sonic boom," Giuliano said at a Sunday evening news conference.
Meanwhile, family members of Raymond E. Dobratz, 58, a pipe fitter from Old Saybrook, Conn., confirmed he is among the dead. "I lost my father," his son, David Dobratz, 32, told The Hartford Courant.
Early reports said there were 50 people working at the gas and oil plant, which was under construction at the time of the explosion. But Giuliano said the number is difficult to determine because several contractors were working at the site.
There were conflicting reports as to the number injured, with many news outlets initially saying as many as 100 were hurt in the explosion, four critically. Authorities at the scene told Hartford's WTNH-TV that workers were doing a "blow-down" to purge gas lines when the explosion occurred.
Fire, police and emergency management personnel responded to the blast, with helicopters airlifting victims, according to WTNH, which also reported that nearby homes were damaged.
Middletown resident Bernadette Nyland, who was in her yard when she heard the blast, told WTNH she saw "flames shooting up" in the direction of the plant. One Middletown woman who felt the boom described it via Twitter, saying, "First thought was earthquake or huge gust of wind -- whole house shook, very brief but powerful."
