The cordon set up around a large part of St. Helier in the wake of the Pier Road explosion will remain in place for the rest of today, it has been confirmed.
The Andium-run Haut du Mont flats collapsed following the blast which occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning, leaving significant debris in its wake.
A cordon stretching as far as Mount Bingham and Commercial buildings was set up while fires were put out and the initial search and rescue operation - which identified three fatalities - got underway.
While it was confirmed this morning that the search was now a "recovery" effort as no signs of life were identified overnight, authorities will be keeping the large cordon in place for the rest of today (Sunday 11 December).
"Work is continuing in order to assess the situation and determine when it is safe to remove the outer cordon," the Emergency Services said.
The police cordon around the Haut du Mont site will remain in place for the rest of today.
— Government of Jersey (@GovJersey) December 11, 2022
Work is continuing in order to assess the situation & determine when it is safe to remove the outer cordon.
For the time being Commercial Buildings, Pier Road and Fort Regent remain closed.
All of Fort Regent - including the vaccination centre - remains closed today. Also closed to public access are Commercial Buildings, Pier Road car park and the recycling centre at La Collette.
An "inner cordon" around the site of the explosion investigation is likely to remain in place significantly longer, however. Police Chief Robin Smith this morning said the recovery effort would be "painstaking" and "meticulous", likely to take several weeks.
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◆ LIVE UPDATES: Major recovery operation underway after Pier Road explosion
Pictured top: An officer at the bottom of Pier Road on Saturday. (Rob Currie)
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