Poor safety 'to blame' for Connecticut pipeline gas explosion

Poor oversight and a lack of adequate safety regulations might be the root cause of a pipeline gas explosion at a power plant in Connecticut, it has been claimed.

The catastrophe, which killed six people and injured 26 others on February 7th, occurred at the Kleen Energy Systems facility in Middletown, the Hartford Courant reports.

According to the news provider, members of a panel looking into the incident "appeared stunned" when a team of experts were unable to answer what state agency or organisations are responsible for ensuring safety measures are properly adhered to.

"This is not a good thing to learn," senator John Fonfara, who posed the question, said.

"Most people would believe that when we build a power plant that affects the whole state, one or more state agencies would have oversight."

The blast is reported to have been caused when a pocket of natural gas vented from purging efforts was ignited while trying to clean pipelines.

No harmful substances were released into the air by the blast, Middletown mayor Sebastian Giuliano told local residents on the day it happened.