Three killed, several missing after explosion on island of Jersey - Reuters UK

LONDON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Three radical were killed and astir a twelve others stay missing aft an detonation aboriginal connected Saturday greeting astatine a artifact of flats connected the land of Jersey, disconnected the seashore of bluish France.

"We present have, I regret to say, 3 fatalities," Robin Smith, Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police, told a quality conference.

The detonation occurred conscionable earlier 0400 GMT and the occurrence has since been extinguished. Emergency services volition proceed to hunt for survivors done the night, Smith said.

He confirmed occurrence services had been called to the spot connected Friday evening earlier the detonation aft residents had reported the odor of gas. He did not remark connected the origin of the explosion, and said that would beryllium taxable to investigation.

Smith said a three-story building, located adjacent the harbour successful the island's superior St Helier, had wholly collapsed.

He said 20 to 30 radical had been evacuated and that 2 "walking wounded" had received infirmary treatment.

Jersey is simply a British Crown Dependency with a nonmigratory colonisation of conscionable implicit 100,000 people.

Reporting by William James; further reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Alex Richardson and Clelia Oziel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.