Conn. worker says plant had natural gas smell an hour before explosion killed 5

Conn. worker cites gas smell an hour before blast

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — A worker who was in a Connecticut power plant when it exploded on Sunday tells The Associated Press there was a smell of natural gas in the plant less than an hour before the blast.

Paul Gaskins was working on a steam turbine at the Kleen Energy plant in Middletown on Sunday when he was blown out the side of the building from the force of the explosion.

The 49-year-old from Holly Ridge, N.C., says workers were concerned about the smell of the gas and were told to open the doors wider to let in more air. He did not see what happened to cause the explosion.

Gaskins says that it was a “normal day” and that no one was in a rush. But he says he and his colleagues they typically worked 12 to 13 hours a day, every day.