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Three men arrested in relation to Jersey's Haut du Mont explosion were questioned again last week in the wake of a "significant" expert report, according to the island's Police Chief.
Giving an update on the ongoing investigation yesterday, Robin Smith said that the police are “nearing the conclusion” of their investigation into the blast which claimed the lives of 10 people in December 2022, and a decision on charges is expected by the end of the year.
The investigation, referred to as Operation Spire, has involved 1,878 lines of inquiry, with 1,078 statements taken, 1,787 exhibits collected and 6,526 documents generated for analysis, and led to the creation of a Major Incident Room at States of Jersey Police Headquarters.
In August 2023, three men were arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. They have not been named.
The men arrested were interviewed by Jersey Police at the time and released on bail while the investigation, which also involves the island's Health and Safety Inspectorate, continued.
But an expert report was a "catalyst" for officers to call them in again for questioning last week on 2, 3 and 4 April, Mr Smith revealed.
He declined to share the exact content of the report, but described its findings as "significant".
Pictured: Police Chief Robin Smith.
"As a result of that expert’s report – which is very detailed – we interviewed them all on separate days," he explained. "They have now been put back on police bail.”
“The investigation now is very well-advanced and it would be fair to say that we, from an investigative point of view, are nearing the conclusion," he added.
The nine residents who died in the Pier Road explosion were 72-year-old Peter Bowler, Raymie Brown (71), Romeu and Louise De Almeida (67 and 64 years), Derek and Sylvia Ellis (61 and 73 years), Ken and Jane Ralph (72 and 71 years) and 63-year-old Billy Marsden. Kathy McGinness (73), who lived in an adjacent block at 35 Haut de Mont was injured as a result of the explosion and died at the General Hospital on Christmas Day.
More than 40 people were also forced to leave their homes due to damage sustained in the explosion.
Pictured: More than 60,000 personal effects have been recovered since the explosion.
As well as praising the “dedication and determination” of officers over the last 15 months, Mr Smith also took the opportunity to acknowledge the “enormous humanitarian effort” that saw more than 60,000 personal effects recovered after the explosion – the vast majority of which have been returned to affected families.
Jersey's Infrastructure Minister confirmed last week that Pier Road is due to open by next month, while work on a permanent memorial in the area continues.
Mr Smith also provided an update on Operation Nectar, which relates to the other major incident that struck Jersey in December 2022 – when the L’Ecume II fishing trawler sank following a collision with Condor’s Commodore Goodwill freight ship.
Pictured: The L'Ecume II trawler.
The incident, which took place just two days before the Haut du Mont explosion, resulted in the deaths of the trawler’s skipper, Michael Michieli, as well as crewmen Jervis Ramirez Baligat and Larry Simyunn.
Mr Smith reiterated that the subsequent file of evidence submitted to the Law Officers Department towards the end of last year was “huge”, adding: “We await their decision – clearly we are in conversation with them.
“Everybody wants to make sure that we do this carefully and right, not quickly and wrong.”
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