Five killed in power station explosion

Sunday's blast at the Kleen Energy Systems plant in Middletown, about 20 miles south of Hartford in Connecticut, killed at least five and injured a dozen or more others. It apparently happened as gas lines were being cleared of air.

Middletown deputy fire marshal Al Santostefano said officials have verified the whereabouts of 95 per cent of the nearly 100 workers who were at the plant. It was unclear whether those who were unaccounted for were missing or had not been located by authorities.

Investigators were yesterday still trying to determine the cause.

Mr Santostefano said he did not know when rescue crews would be able to search the small section of the plant that remained unstable.

Connecticut governor M Jodi Rell said that officials had yesterday still not received rosters of workers who should have been at the plant on Sunday.