This is scary...

This is scary, and it in Spain. Imagine what they could do to a power plant here in the States? I have a bad feeling that power plant safety will only become a priority here after a disaster.

 

-O

 

Explosions at Spanish power plant

By CNN's Madrid Bureau Chief Al Goodman

Tuesday, July 12, 2005; Posted: 9:52 a.m. EDT (13:52 GMT)

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Four explosions struck a new, soon-to-be-operational electrical power plant in northern Spain on Tuesday, shortly after warning calls were made in the name of the Basque separatist group ETA, a Basque regional police spokesman told CNN.

There was no immediate confirmation of injuries, and damage was being evaluated, the spokesman said.

After the warning calls to the Basque newspaper Gara and to the Basque emergency road service DYA, police rushed to the plant, in the Basque city of Amorebieta, and evacuated the workers.

The explosions occurred in quick succession between 2:05 pm and 2:15 pm local time.

The gas-fired thermal power plant is in a testing phase and not yet on line.

ETA, listed as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union, is blamed for more than 800 killings in its 37-year fight for Basque independence in northern Spain.

If often chooses to make warning calls and when it does so, the Gara newspaper typically gets the call

The group has also claimed responsibility, in warning calls, for several car bombings this year in Madrid that caused injuries and caused property damage.

Spanish Parliament recently approved a Socialist government proposal to hold talks with ETA if it would first renounce violence and lay down its arms.