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Tag: Robin Smith

  • Jersey flats explosion: Another body found after blast with one person still unaccounted for

    The cause of the fatal blast in St Helier has still not been confirmed, and while police have stopped searching for survivors, they say the work to uncover bodies “will take weeks, not days”.

    Eight people are now confirmed to have died following an explosion at a block of flats in Jersey, police have said.

    In a statement, Robin Smith, Jersey Chief of Police, said one resident remained unaccounted for following the blast at the Haut du Mont site on Pier Road, St Helier, on Saturday.

    It read: “The number of islanders confirmed to have died in the blast is now eight. We estimate that there is still one resident that is unaccounted for.

    “As has been our process throughout, the families have been made aware of this announcement before the public and media and are being supported by our specially trained family liaison officers.

    “I am sure islanders will continue to join me in giving our thoughts to those victims, their families, and friends, in what has been a tragic incident for our island and our community.”

    On Tuesday, police confirmed the number of people killed in the incident had risen from five to seven, and named two final missing people as Ken and Jane Ralph, aged 72 and 71 respectively.

    The two final missing people have been named as Ken and Jane Ralph
    Image:Ken and Jane Ralph

    Prior to that, officials named seven other missing people as Peter Bowler, 72, Raymond Brown, 71, Romeu and Louise De Almeida, 67 and 64, Derek and Sylvia Ellis, 61 and 73, and Billy Marsden, 63.

    Emergency services have been conducting searches of the blast site in St Helier since Saturday, and confirmed earlier this week that they were no longer looking for survivors.

    Search for bodies continues

    Police have said the search for bodies “will take weeks, not days” and described the scene on Pier Road as one of “utter devastation”.

    The cause of the explosion has still not been confirmed, with Jersey’s chief fire officer Paul Brown previously saying there were “many different potential causes” and it was too early to speculate.

    In the hours before the blast, the fire service was called to the building after residents reported smelling gas and a leak was said to be a “likely” cause.

    However, the chief executive of Island Energy, which supplies gas to the Channel Islands, said the flats affected were not connected to the gas network.

  • Confirmed – Five persons died in Jersey tower blast

    The search and rescue operation has been renamed a “recovery operation,” according to the chief of police.

    Five people have been confirmed dead following an explosion and fire at a block of flats in Jersey, up from three previously.

    A dozen people are still believed to be missing.

    The search for bodies will take “weeks, not days,” police said on Sunday, and will be “meticulous and painstaking.”

    The emergency services are no longer looking for survivors, according to Chief of Police Robin Smith.

    ‘Scene of utter tragedy’ at Jersey blast site

    Asked if those who are missing had died, Mr Smith said: “We’ve now moved into the recovery phase [of the operation]. So inevitably and tragically and sadly that is the case.”

    He said while the search of the debris left following the explosion would not be “quick”, it would be both “careful and sensitive”.

    Chief ambulance officer Peter Gavey speaking at a press conference about the explosion and fire at a block of flats in St Helier, Jersey. At least three people have died and a dozen are missing following the blast. Picture date: Sunday December 11, 2022.
    Image:Chief ambulance officer Peter Gavey speaking at a press conference

    ‘Something has gone horribly wrong’

    Firefighters, specialist rescue teams and dogs worked through the night to search for survivors in the debris of the block in St Helier.

    Mr Smith said teams were now “working on participating with all the services, including health and safety, to understand how this has occurred.”

    Jersey’s chief fire officer, Paul Brown, said: “Something clearly has gone wrong because a building has exploded and collapsed. And horribly [wrong] as well.”

    Pic: Government of Jersey
    Image:Pic: Government of Jersey

    Mr Brown went on: “We’re all devastated that Islanders have been lost and that families and loved ones are suffering and will continue to do so.”

    Family liaison officers are currently working with the families of those affected by the blast, and while authorities say they are in touch with all next of kin, victims are yet to be publicly identified.

    ‘Utter devastation’

    The extent of the devastation was evident in video footage posted to Twitter by the Jersey government, which showed piles of rubble, crushed cars and a blown-out window in a neighbouring building.

    Police described the scene at Haut du Mont on Pier Road as one of “utter devastation”.

    At least three people have died in an explosion at a three-storey tower block in Jersey. Pic: Government of Jersey
    Image:A sniffer dog on the scene. Pic: Government of Jersey

    Mr Smith said that the tower block had “completely collapsed” and “doesn’t even look like a building” after the “very, very significant explosion”.

    Around 40 people are being housed in alternative accommodation following the blast, which happened at around 4am on Saturday morning.

    ‘Too early to speculate’ about cause

    The fire service was called to the building at around 8.30pm on Friday night, hours before the blast, after residents reported smelling gas.

    When asked what could cause such a “ferocious” explosion, Paul Brown, the chief fire officer, said there were “many different potential causes”, but it was too early to speculate.

    CCTV of the blast
    Image:CCTV of the blast

    Residents who lived in the flats have been moved to St Helier Town Hall, where they continue to be supported.

    Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, tweeted that he was “deeply saddened” by the incident and commended the work of the emergency services response, adding: “We stand ready to support in any way we can.”

    It’s the second tragedy for Jersey in days, after a skipper and two crew members were killed last week when their fishing boat collided with a freight vessel.

     

  • Large explosion at Jersey apartment building leaves one person dead and almost a dozen others missing

    After a significant explosion at a Jersey apartment building, one person is dead, and “about a dozen” are still missing.

    Following the explosion at Haut du Mont on Pier Road in St. Helier, two “walking wounded” have been transported to a hospital by police on the Channel island.

    According to police, relatives are being notified.

    The fire has been put out, according to the police, but the area around the incident is sealed off and emergency personnel is still “carrying out considerable work.”

    The States of Jersey Police received reports of a “huge explosion” at around 4 am on Saturday, according to Robin Smith, the force’s commanding officer.

    Robin Smith, chief officer at States of Jersey Police, said the force received reports of a “large explosion” at around 4 am on Saturday.

    He said one person had died and two people, whom he described as “walking wounded”, were taken to the hospital.

    Mr Smith said: “There are of course a number of other people that are unaccounted for and therefore a search and rescue operation has commenced.”

    He said Jersey Fire and Rescue Service were liaising with Hampshire Fire and Rescue to help with the search.

    Mr Smith added between 20 and 30 people evacuated from the area had been taken to St Helier Town Hall.