A message left near the scene of the explosion in St Helier, Jersey. PA
A message left near the scene of the explosion in St Helier, Jersey. PA
A message left near the scene of the explosion in St Helier, Jersey. PA
A message left near the scene of the explosion in St Helier, Jersey. PA

Police name seven as missing from Jersey explosion


Simon Rushton
  • English
  • Arabic

Islanders in Jersey held a minute’s silence for those affected by the fatal explosion in St Helier, as police released the names of seven people missing.

Five people are known to have died in the suspected gas explosion that ripped through a residential block on Saturday.

Flags have been lowered on official buildings around the island until sunset on December 23.

Traffic was stopped as police chief Robin Smith and chief minister Kristina Moore joined the silence held outside the States of Jersey police headquarters.

Uniformed officers, members of the search and rescue team, and key workers bowed their heads.

“The families of seven islanders missing since the incident at the Haut du Mont site on Pier Road have released their identities," a police statement said.

“The families, supported by officers within the family liaison team, made the decision this afternoon as the recovery operation continues.”

A damaged property near the explosion site in St Helier, Jersey. PA
A damaged property near the explosion site in St Helier, Jersey. PA

The missing have been named as Peter Bowler, 72, Raymond Brown, 71, Romeu, 67, and Louise De Almeida, 64, Derek, 61, and Sylvia Ellis, 73, and Billy Marsden, 63.

The three-storey Haut du Mont residential block was destroyed in the blast.

Commercial buildings close to the blast site and Mount Bingham hill reopened on Monday, but a police cordon remains in place on Pier Road and South Hill.

Residents on North Quay Parade, near the scene of the explosion, started returning to their homes.

Several buildings, including the homes of Andy Rawlinson, 54, and Steve McCherry, 60, were damaged by the blast, with windows smashed and debris strewn across their doorsteps.

Mr McCherry said the impact had thrown him from his bed.

Police officers observe a minute of silence outside the States of Jersey Police headquarters. Getty Images
Police officers observe a minute of silence outside the States of Jersey Police headquarters. Getty Images

Mr Rawlinson said he had been awoken by an “almighty bang” at 4am and now felt “traumatised” about returning home.

“It’s scary, it’s traumatic as well,” he said. “It’s horrible being a few hundred yards away from where people are dying and there’s not a thing you can do.

“People have lost their lives so close to Christmas, it’s so, so sad. I’ve never seen anything like that here. It’s devastating.”

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Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

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The five pillars of Islam
The chef's advice

Troy Payne, head chef at Abu Dhabi’s newest healthy eatery Sanderson’s in Al Seef Resort & Spa, says singles need to change their mindset about how they approach the supermarket.

“They feel like they can’t buy one cucumber,” he says. “But I can walk into a shop – I feed two people at home – and I’ll walk into a shop and I buy one cucumber, I’ll buy one onion.”

Mr Payne asks for the sticker to be placed directly on each item, rather than face the temptation of filling one of the two-kilogram capacity plastic bags on offer.

The chef also advises singletons not get too hung up on “organic”, particularly high-priced varieties that have been flown in from far-flung locales. Local produce is often grown sustainably, and far cheaper, he says.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

TCL INFO

Teams:
Punjabi Legends 
Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan

Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
When December 14-17

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Matrix Resurrections

Director: Lana Wachowski

Stars:  Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick 

Rating:****

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The specs: 2017 Maserati Quattroporte

Price, base / as tested Dh389,000 / Dh559,000

Engine 3.0L twin-turbo V8

Transmission Eight-speed automatic

Power 530hp @ 6,800rpm

Torque 650Nm @ 2,000 rpm

Fuel economy, combined 10.7L / 100km

The essentials

What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature

When: Friday until March 9

Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City

Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.

Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.

Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
 

Essentials

The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

Updated: June 21, 2023, 8:55 AM`