NEW DELHI - An explosion at an Indian coal-fired power plant on Wednesday (Nov 1) has killed sixteen people and injured up to 100 in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

About 80 people have been taken to the hospital of plant operator NTPC, while around 10 with serious injuries have been sent to other facilities, NTPC said in a statement.

"About 16 people are dead, and 90-100 people have been injured because of the blast," Arvind Kumar, Uttar Pradesh's top bureaucrat handling law and order, told Reuters.

There was a "sudden abnormal sound" at Unit 6 of the NTPC plant in the town of Unchahar and flue gases and steam escaped during the incident, NTPC said.

The 1,550 megawatt (MW) plant supplies electricity to nine states including Uttar Pradesh, according to the company's website.

Three units with a combined capacity of 630 MW are continuing to generate electricity, while the 500 MW unit that was hit by the explosion has been shut down.

Other units are either under scheduled maintenance or are not operating currently due to lack of demand, NTPC said.