Chief minister pledges ‘rigorous and independent’ inquiry as police confirm the dead are nine missing after blast
The nine people who died after an explosion at a block of flats in Jersey have been formally identified.
The blast, which took place just after 4am on 10 December, destroyed the building in St Helier. On Thursday, the States of Jersey police confirmed postmortems had been carried out and the people named as missing had been identified as those who died.
The inquests into their deaths will open on Friday 30 December, before being adjourned while the investigation into the incident continues.
“Officers across the police and government are assisting with the next steps so families can begin to make funeral arrangements,” a police spokesperson said.
“Our thoughts continue to be with the families and friends affected by this tragedy. They continue to receive support from specially trained officers. It is anticipated that the deputy viscount [coroner] will open the inquests next Friday, 30 December, and adjourn them while the police investigation continues.
“Detectives will continue their inquiries throughout the festive period and a cordon of the site will remain in place into the new year, with specialist scientific work expected to last several weeks.”
The victims were Peter Bowler, 72; Raymond (Raymie) Brown, 71; Romeu and Louise De Almeida, 67 and 64; Derek and Sylvia Ellis, 61 and 73; Ken and Jane Ralph, 72 and 71; and 63-year-old Billy Marsden.
Speaking to the states assembly, the island’s representative body, two days after the incident, Jersey’s chief minister, Kristina Moore, said the police investigation would be rigorous and independent.
“The devastating explosion at Haut du Mont has shocked everyone in the island and around the world. I’m sure members [of the assembly] will have seen the footage, which makes for painful viewing, and is unprecedented for Jersey in modern times.
“Put simply, most of us will have never seen anything like it. Alongside the ongoing recovery operation, a police investigation into the events that led to the explosion is under way. Again, that investigation will be independent at every stage, and will provide the facts of what happened for the families and loved ones of everyone involved.”
Jersey’s entire gas system has been put under investigation and the possibility of a criminal investigation has not been ruled out. Reports have suggested that on the Friday evening before the disaster, the fire service was called at 8.36pm to a suspected gas leak. Officers at the scene handed over the case to Islands Energy about 30 minutes later.
