Although federal investigators are unsure about what caused a fatal explosion on Feb. 7 at a powerplant under construction in central Connecticut, local officials are saying the accident occurred during blowdown operations in preparation for the facility’s scheduled opening this summer.
Reports are unconfirmed that authorities are investigating the possibility that a welder’s torch may have created the spark that caused the blast. But a spokesman for the project owner, Kleen Energy Systems LLC, Middletown, Conn., says police were still treating the site as a crime scene and that a criminal investigation is under way.