Police have named seven people who are missing and feared dead after an explosion and fire at a block of flats in Jersey.
They are: Peter Bowler, 72, Raymond (Raymie) Brown, 71, Romeu and Louise De Almeida, 67 and 64, Derek and Sylvia Ellis, 61 and 73, and Billy Marsden, 63.
The cause of the explosion at the three-story Haut du Mont island in the island’s capital on Saturday is still under investigation.
In addition to the seven named, two more people are still believed to be missing.
On Sunday, police said the search for bodies “will take weeks, not days” and will be “thorough and thorough,” adding that emergency services are no longer looking for survivors.
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0:35 Moment of the explosion in Jersey
“total devastation” scene
Asked if the missing had died, Chief Constable Robin Smith said: “We have now moved into the recovery phase. [of the operation]. So, inevitably, tragically and sadly, this is the case.”
Firefighters, specialist rescue teams and dogs have been searching through the remains of the residential block, which was destroyed in the explosion at 4am on Saturday.
Police have described the scene in Pier Road as one of “total devastation”.
About 40 people are staying in alternative accommodation after the explosion.
Family liaison officers are currently working with the families of those affected by the blast, and while authorities say they are in contact with all relatives, the victims have not yet been publicly identified.
Image: Image: Government of Jersey
A friend of Raymond (Raymie) Brown described the 71-year-old as “a lovely man”.
Terry Le Main told Sky News: “I’ve known Ray for many, many years. He was a quiet, modest and lovely man.”
He added: “The whole community is absolutely devastated… It’s a small community where we know everyone. To think that these decent, good people have suffered, it’s a tragedy.”
Le Main said he also knew Derek and Sylvia Ellis and had attended their wedding.
“They were a lovely, lovely couple. Normal, good, hard-working people. It’s tragic, I’m very bewildered today.”
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0:59 Jersey search: ‘weeks not days’
Something had gone “horribly wrong”
Jersey Fire Chief Paul Brown acknowledged that something had gone “horribly wrong” and his service will “co-operate fully” with investigations into the cause of the explosion.
He confirmed that the service was called to the building at around 2:30 p.m. this Friday night and had carried out investigations after neighbors complained of the smell of gas. The explosion took place about seven and a half hours later.
An urgent safety check of Jersey’s gas network is also being carried out.
Island Energy, which supplies gas to the Channel Islands, said in a statement that engineers would continue testing over the next few days.
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Island Energy Group chief executive Jo Cox said: “Island Energy continues to work alongside the emergency services as they continue their recovery operation. The company will carry out its own investigation into what happened, and to help the different official inquiries.
“Our engineers are carrying out safety tests on the island’s gas network, and this will be completed in the coming days. No problems have been detected in the survey so far.”
It is the second tragedy in Jersey in recent days, after last week a skipper and two crew were killed when their fishing vessel collided with a cargo ship.