An explosion at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Haven, Connecticut, on Friday killed at least two people and “seriously injured” others.
“We received a report this morning that an explosion occurred at the West Haven campus of the VA Connecticut Healthcare System that resulted in two deaths in a non-patient care area,” VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said in a statement. “Neither of the victims were VA patients and patient care was not affected. Emergency personnel are on the scene.”
A VA spokesperson told News 8 that one of the deceased was a hospital employee. The other was an outside contractor.
An aide to Connecticut Public Safety Commissioner James Rovella told the Associated Press that the “explosion type incident” had resulted in additional “serious injuries.”
Federal and state investigators are on the scene. State police told Count On 2 news that they were sending three detectives from their fire and explosion investigation unit. An FBI spokesperson said that “the FBI will assist Connecticut State Police as needed.”
The explosion occurred in the rear of the facilities, specifically in the maintenance area. Smoke could be seen rising from the building, according to reports from WTNH. The VA spokesperson said that the explosion was due to a leak in the steam plant, which is not attached to the hospital facilities.
A news conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST.
