In what witnesses described as a huge explosion, a transformer at the Indian Point nuclear power plant just north of New York City caught on fire Saturday, billowing smoke and prompting the operator to shut down the impacted unit.
Onlookers documented the explosion on Twitter:
— Gustavus Gricius (@GustavusHimself) May 9, 2015
At a wedding at #monteverde at old stone and just watched an explosion happen at#indianpoint nuclear power plant. Should I be concerned?
— chialing sarva (@chialinghsu) May 9, 2015
Large transformer explosion at Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. Several Westchester County units on scene operating pic.twitter.com/thmY8uNKsv
— RocklandFires (@RocklandFires) May 9, 2015
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that, in the aftermath of the blaze, firefighters extinguished the flames with a “special kind of foam.” The governor voiced concern about the environmental implications of this substance and oil leaks from transformer: “There is a lot of foam and a lot of oil and now we are worried about that leaking in to the Hudson River.”