Hopes for survivors fade after deadly blast at flats in Jersey
An explosion tore through a block of flats in Jersey Saturday morning, killing three and leaving around a dozen people missing.
The blast happened just before 05:00 CET on Pier Road in St Helier, the capital of the Channel Island.
Two people were hospitalised, with locals reporting a loud bang and thick plumes of smoke rising high into the air during the early hours of the morning.
Emergency services searched for some 12 missing people throughout Saturday, but by Sunday morning they switched to a "recovery operation".
"It is with sadness that I am confirming that the search-and-rescue operation had been moved to a recovery operation," said Chief of Police Robin Smith, adding that this decision was made after a "detailed assessment and following the use of specialist K9 units".
A gas leak is thought to be the cause of the tragedy, though this is subject to investigation.
On Saturday, Smith said the search could take "a number of days", describing "a pretty devastating scene ... [its] a very dangerous one for all of our staff."
He continued: "I don't know the exact number of the flats destroyed, but we have a three-storey building that has completely collapsed."
"Described as, from a demolition point of view, probably as a pancake that has just dropped almost sort of straight down."
A neighbour, Anthony Abbott, told the BBC that the windows in his apartment were blown inwards by the blast.
"Outside everything was on fire", he said, considering himself "lucky".
The flames were extinguished on Saturday.
Jersey is a small island off the northeastern coast of France, populated by little over 100,000 people.
Though not in the United Kingdom, it is a Crown Dependency, meaning Britain is responsible for providing its defence. It
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