Witnesses told the local Hartford Courant newspaper that as many as 100 people were injured in Sunday's blast at the Kleen Energy plant on the outskirts of Middletown on the Connecticut River.
"There are bodies everywhere," one witness was quoted as saying while others said victims may be buried in the rubble of the plant, which was still under construction.
"There was a massive explosion, there are multiple injuries and possible fatalities," said Middletown police spokesman George Yepes.
"The reports vary from a few, several to possibly as many as 50 dead," said Brian Albert from the Middlesex hospital, which was treating several of those injured in the blast.
Dozens of emergency personnel swarmed around the sprawling energy complex after the explosion, which rocked nearby residential housing shortly before 11:30am (0330 AEDT Monday).
Convoy of ambulances
The Hartford Courant reported that 20 ambulances were at the scene and said helicopters were airlifting some of the victims to nearby hospitals, amid claims of "mass casualties".
Pictures of the site showed a convoy of ambulances driving into the facility, from which a huge, gray plume of smoke rose into the sky.
One witness told the Hartford Courant that the explosion took place during a test of the plant's power generating systems.
The 620-megawatt Kleen Energy plant, said to be one of the largest power facilities to be constructed in New England for many years, was still in the process of being built.
The gas-fired energy production plant is located on the outskirts of the city on the edge of the river, but close to some residential housing.
A company called Energy Investors Funds recently acquired 80 per cent of the Kleen Energy, which had been due to go online sometime in 2010.
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