Flags lowered across Jersey for at least five people dead in St Helier blast

The flags will fly at half-mast until sunset on December 23.

The Union flag, the flag of Jersey, the flag of St Helier and the Ukrainian Flag fly at half-mast over St Helier Town Hall, following an explosion and fire at a block of flats in St Helier, Jersey. Police have said that five people are now confirmed to have died following the blast (Aaron Chown/PA) (PA Wire)

Flags have been lowered and a minute’s silence held across Jersey in mourning for at least five people who are confirmed to have died following a suspected gas explosion, with four more feared missing.

The flags, including those at St Helier port close to where the blast happened, will continue to fly at half-mast until sunset on December 23.

Islanders, including Police Chief Robin Smith and members of the specialist search and rescue team, observed a minute’s silence outside the States of Jersey Police Headquarters at 11am.

The key workers bowed their heads while traffic was stopped in both directions.

Chief Minister Kristina Moore was among those who stood outside the Government of Jersey headquarters, around half a mile away, to mark the moment.

States of Jersey Police gave an updated death toll on Sunday evening as specialist teams continued the recovery operation on Pier Road.

The force estimated that four more people are also likely to be recovered from the wreckage of the three-storey Haut du Mont residential block, which was destroyed in the blast at 4am on Saturday.

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

Police chief Robin Smith told a press conference on Sunday that the search had moved to a “recovery stage”, which is likely to take “weeks”.

Mr Smith added it “looks likely” that the blast was a gas explosion, but this has not been confirmed.

Chief Minister Kristina Moore told reporters that the wider community of Jersey has been “immensely shocked and saddened” by the incident and the government had been “overwhelmed” by their “offers of support”.

Jersey chief fire officer Paul Brown acknowledged that something had gone “horribly wrong” and his service will be “co-operating fully” and “transparently” with investigations into what caused the blast.

Mr Brown earlier confirmed that firefighters had been called to the building at 8.36pm on Friday and had carried out investigations after residents reported smelling gas – just hours before the blast.

Specialist teams from other parts of the UK, including the Isle of Wight and Hampshire, have been drafted in to aid the response.

Andium Homes, a state-owned but independent company which rents out thousands of properties on the island, said it is focusing on supporting residents at the estate.

Gas supplier Island Energy said it is working with the fire service to “understand exactly what has happened”.