THE last remaining expert report into the Haut du Mont explosion has been completed, the Home Affairs Minister told the States yesterday.
Deputy Mary Le Hegarat confirmed that a charge file was well advanced and would be submitted to the Law Officers Department.
The explosion on Pier Road claimed the lives of nine Islanders early in the morning of 10 December 2022, while a tenth later died in hospital.
Responding to a question from Deputy Montfort Tadier, Deputy Le Hegarat said that the public would not be informed of the cause “at this stage”, and she stressed the complexity of the joint inquiry between the States police and the health and safety department which had involved 1,991 actions, 6,975 documents, 1,850 exhibits and 1,118 statements.
“This is a very serious incident… probably the most serious incident that has happened in Jersey for a significant period of time and there are ten victims [to whose] families I send my condolences. I fully appreciate that people want closure but it is appropriate when we have something of such serious nature that the investigation teams need the time and space to be able to [work],” she said, adding that she was aware this could pose a challenge to the families involved.
“It is important that this file is put together in a professional manner, and that no stone is left unturned so that whatever the outcome, it is the best we can possibly do,” Deputy Le Hegarat said.
The minister confirmed that she had received a risk assessment covering the likely cause of the incident and confirmed, in response to a supplementary question from Deputy Philip Ozouf, that issues affecting the wider safety of the public were “at the forefront of our minds”.
She told the Assembly that she would obtain an up-to-date cost of the Operation Spire, the police investigation into the incident, which at the end of 2023 stood at £2,707,745 according to the latest police annual report.
