Apartments evacuated as "small" gas leak repaired

Wednesday 14 December 2022

Islanders living on Mont Pinel temporarily had to leave their homes this evening after a “small” gas leak was identified.

Police closed the road near Mont Millais around 16:20 to allow a “thorough investigation” by Islands Energy Group to take place after concerns were raised about a potential leak near an apartment block.

Having assessed the area inside and outside the block, the utility company said its engineers "found a very small detection of gas outside" and "performed an immediate repair".

UPDATE - ROAD RE-OPENED

The road closure at Mont Pinel (near Mont Millais) has been lifted and is now accessible as normal.

Thank you for your cooperation. https://t.co/cQ3acOnXko

— States of Jersey Police (@JerseyPolice) December 14, 2022

It comes just days after an explosion that collapsed Haut du Mont flats on Pier Road, claiming the lives of at least eight islanders.

The cause is still being investigated, but Police Chief Robin Smith said gas was "likely" to be behind the blast, while Islands Energy Group CEO Jo Cox said on Monday that it was "very typical" for gas to be the cause of an explosion of that size.

As Mont Pinel was reopened around 19:00 this evening and islanders allowed back to their homes, Islands Energy Group said it was "very aware that the public will be concerned".

However, the company reassured islanders that "this kind of leak is not unusual and such a repair is part of our 'business as usual' operations: work such as this is carried out regularly."

Thanking islanders and the emergency services for their continued "vigilance", if anyone smells gas, they should call us immediately on our 24-hour emergency number, 01534 755555."

LISTEN...

In a special edition podcast, Express looks at what we know so far about the Pier Road tragedy...