At least three people have died in the wake of a “devastating” explosion at a three-storey tower block in Jersey.
Chief Minister Kristina Moore confirmed the latest total at a press conference following the explosion in the early hours of Saturday morning.
“Around a dozen” are feared missing after the “ferocious” blast at Haut du Mont on Pier Road in the Channel Island’s capital, St Helier.
Police described the scene as one of “utter devastation”, telling journalists how the tower block had “completely collapsed” and “doesn’t even look like a building” after the “very, very significant explosion”.
The States of Jersey Police were called to the scene at 4am, with one person pronounced dead and two others, described as “walking wounded”, taken to hospital.
They have since been discharged with a third person receiving treatment for non-serious injuries, medics said.
A blaze ignited by the explosion was initially believed to have been extinguished, with emergency services “carrying out significant work” at the scene.
More on Jersey
Related Topics:
However on Saturday afternoon police said “pockets of fire” have been discovered, adding that the site remains “highly unsafe”.
The South West Hazardous Area Response Team, together with an urban search and rescue team from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Service, have been deployed to assist.
Advertisement
The fire service was called to the area at around 8.30pm on Friday night after residents reported smelling gas.
Image: Emergency services were called to Haut du Mont on Pier Road around 4am on Saturday morning
Cause of blast remains unknown
The cause of the explosion remains unknown, as emergency crews say their number one priority is to locate anyone who is alive in the rubble.
Robin Smith, chief officer at States of Jersey Police, said there are a “number of working hypotheses” but stressed it was important not to speculate.
A senior detective has been assigned to look into the incident, which could be a “criminal or joint investigation”, he said.
When asked about what could cause such a “ferocious” explosion, chief fire officer Paul Brown said there are “many different potential causes” but it is too early to speculate.
When pressed about whether the explosion happened near a mains gas supply, he replied: “We have been in dialogue with utility companies throughout the day.”
Image: Emergency services coordinating their efforts at the scene in St Helier Pic: Facebook/Jersey Government
Image: Emergency services were called to Haut du Mont on Pier Road around 4am on Saturday morning
‘This isn’t going to finish today’
Mr Smith described the scene as one of “complete devastation”.
He said “significant progress” had been made thanks to a “co-ordinated effort” to deal with the tragedy, with the search for missing people set to continue throughout the night.
But he warned the incident was “protracted” and would likely go on for “days, maybe weeks”.
“It is important we have the resilience to continue and keep going,” he told the press conference, adding: “This isn’t going to finish today.”
Specially trained officers have been deployed to Jersey town hall to provide support to people affected by the incident, which will continue “way beyond” the search and rescue phase, Mr Smith said.
Image: Emergency services coordinating their efforts at the scene in St Helier Pic: Facebook/Jersey Government
‘Unimaginable tragedy’
Ms Moore described the incident as an “unimaginable tragedy”.
She told the conference: “As we know at 4am this morning our island experienced an unimaginable tragedy taking the life of at least three islanders.
“The last 12 hours have demonstrated to me the resilience, skill and dedication of our emergency services and our community as a whole.”
Ms Moore said her thoughts were with the people whose loved ones had died, those waiting for news and anyone forced to leave their home.
She also offered her “sincere thanks” to emergency crews who have worked tirelessly through the night and hailed the “compassion” of islanders.
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab 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”.
A man has been remanded into custody charged with child cruelty offences after allegedly lacing sweets with sedatives.
Jon Ruben, 76, of Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Saturday after youngsters fell ill at a summer camp in Stathern, Leicestershire.
He has been charged with three counts of wilfully assaulting, ill-treating, neglecting, abandoning or exposing children in a manner likely to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury to health.
The charges relate to three boys at the camp between 25-29 July.
Image: The scene in Stathern, Leicestershire. Pic: PA
Ruben spoke only to confirm his name, age and address.
Police received a report of children feeling unwell at a camp being held at Stathern Lodge, near Melton in Leicestershire, last Sunday.
Officers said paramedics attended the scene and eight boys – aged between eight and 11 – were taken to hospital as a precaution, as was an adult. They have since been discharged.
Police said the “owners and operators of Stathern Lodge are independent from those people who use or hire the lodge and are not connected to the incident”.
Leicestershire Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, after officers initially reported the incident as having happened on Monday, only to later amend it to Sunday.
It is still unclear when officers responded and whether that is why the watchdog referral has been made.
Ruben will next appear at Leicester Crown Court on 29 August.
Addressing the City Academy Voices choir directly, the bishop of Fulham said: “I write to apologise for the distress and offence I caused in bringing the concert to a premature end.
“This should not have happened … I also apologise for remarks which were made in haste, and which have understandably caused hurt and distress.”
Image: The bishop, in his dressing gown, gave the choir a dressing down
Mr Baker had demanded for the performance to stop because it was 10pm – and says he didn’t realise the choir had booked the church until 11pm.
In the statement obtained by Sky News, he added: “I have lived here on site at St Andrew’s for 10 years, for much of which City Academy has rehearsed and performed here.
“You have been, and continue to be, welcome – and I hope that you will be able to continue the relationship with us.
More from UK
“I can give you every assurance that the events of Friday evening will not recur, and I apologise again to performers (especially those unable to perform at the end of the evening) and the audience alike.”
Image: The choir performed their last song
The choir was performing to a 300-strong audience in Holborn when the lights were suddenly turned off, with Mr Baker declaring the concert was “over”.
A church employee then asked the crowd to leave quietly and for the musicians to step down from the stage, attracting boos from the audience.
The choir went on to perform one last song, an A cappella version of ABBA’s Dancing Queen, before bringing their show to a close.
One member of the audience, who was attending with his 10-year-old daughter, told Sky News he initially thought the interruption was a staged joke.
Benedict Collins had told Sky News: “This work deserves respect, not to be disparaged as a ‘terrible racket’. The people here had put their heart and soul into it.
“The bishop cut them off in midstream, preventing soloists who had worked their hardest from singing – and preventing the audience, which included people of all ages, from enjoying it to the end.”
The choir told Sky News it was “upsetting” that they were unable to finish their show as planned, but “hold no hard feelings and wish the bishop well”.
A spokesperson added: “If anyone is thinking of joining one of our choirs, the City Academy Voices rehearse on Mondays in central London. Dressing gowns optional.”
The Online Safety Act is putting free speech at risk and needs significant adjustments, Elon Musk’s social network X has warned.
New rules that came into force last week require platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and X – as well as sites hosting pornography – to bring in measures to prove that someone using them is over the age of 18.
The Online Safety Act requires sites to protect children and to remove illegal content, but critics have said that the rules have been implemented too broadly, resulting in the censorship of legal content.
X has warned the act’s laudable intentions were “at risk of being overshadowed by the breadth of its regulatory reach”.
It said: “When lawmakers approved these measures, they made a conscientious decision to increase censorship in the name of ‘online safety’.
“It is fair to ask if UK citizens were equally aware of the trade-off being made.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
3:53
What are the new online rules?
X claims the timetable for platforms to meet mandatory measures had been unnecessarily tight – and despite complying, sites still faced threats of enforcement and fines, “encouraging over-censorship”.
More on Online Safety Bill
Related Topics:
“A balanced approach is the only way to protect individual liberties, encourage innovation and safeguard children. It’s safe to say that significant changes must take place to achieve these objectives in the UK,” it said.
A UK government spokesperson said it is “demonstrably false” that the Online Safety Act compromises free speech.
“As well as legal duties to keep children safe, the very same law places clear and unequivocal duties on platforms to protect freedom of expression,” they added.
Users have complained about age checks that require personal data to be uploaded to access sites that show pornography, and 468,000 people have already signed a petition asking for the new law to be repealed.
In response to the petition, the government said it had “no plans” to reverse the Online Safety Act.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
5:23
Why do people want to repeal the Online Safety Act?
Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage likened the new rules to “state suppression of genuine free speech” and said his party would ditch the regulations.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said on Tuesday that those who wanted to overturn the act were “on the side of predators” – to which Mr Farage demanded an apology, calling Mr Kyle’s comments “absolutely disgusting”.
Regulator Ofcom said on Thursday it had launched an investigation into how four companies – that collectively run 34 pornography sites – are complying with new age-check requirements.
These companies – 8579 LLC, AVS Group Ltd, Kick Online Entertainment S.A. and Trendio Ltd – run dozens of sites, and collectively have more than nine million unique monthly UK visitors, the internet watchdog said.
The regulator said it prioritised the companies based on the risk of harm posed by the services they operated and their user numbers.
It adds to the 11 investigations already in progress into 4chan, as well as an unnamed online suicide forum, seven file-sharing services, and two adult websites.
Ofcom said it expects to make further enforcement announcements in the coming months.