• After an explosion at a Jersey apartment building that killed three people and left a dozen others missing, emergency workers are searching all night.
• The government of Jersey says that a “meticulous” multi-agency search effort is being put together.
• Officer Robin Smith, who is in charge of police on the island, said that the scene at Pier Road was “complete devastation.”

After the collapse in St. Helier on Saturday morning, there are now specialised teams and a search dog on the scene.

The government of Jersey says that a “careful” multi-agency search effort is being put together.

Officer Robin Smith, who is in charge of police on the island, said that the scene at Pier Road was “complete devastation.”

The island’s government tweeted a video that showed piles of rubble and a crushed car behind the police cordon.

Kristina Moore, who is the Chief Minister, called it a “unimaginable tragedy.”

The government of Jersey said that the search involved “a number of stages, such as leaving the site empty for short periods to let dogs in and carefully moving debris.”

At an earlier press conference, Chief Fire Officer Paul Brown said, “The plan is that we will keep looking.” Teams will work all night long without stopping.”

He also said, “The main problem is that we have a dangerous building that has fallen down.”

“Then, anything we do or do wrong could hurt the chance of survival of anyone who could be saved.” Two people who were in the hospital before have been sent home, and one person is still there getting care.

Saturday around 04:00 GMT, the explosion happened.

Mr. Smith, the head of the police department, said, “There are a number of working hypotheses” about what happened, but he told people not to guess.

He also said, “Thank goodness these things don’t happen very often, but communities are still very worried about them.” Witnesses have said that the force of the explosion made the ground shake.

Daniel Hunt, who is 19 and from St. Helier, posted pictures of the fire on Twitter from his apartment.

“My windows were shaking, and the whole room was shaking,” he said. “You could almost feel the tremor in your bedroom. When it happens, you wonder, “What was that?”

The government has turned its Covid helpline into a service for people who need help because of what happened.

Island Energy, which is Jersey’s gas provider, said it was working with the fire department to figure out what had happened.

It was already known that the fire department went to the scene on Friday night after someone said they could smell gas.

People asked the chief fire officer if the call on Friday had anything to do with what caused the explosion.

Mr. Brown said, “I’ll give you an answer, but for now I’d like to focus on the emergency response, talk to my colleagues, and think about the parts that need to be looked into. I also want to make sure I don’t tell you something I need to tell someone else first.”

Andium Homes, a state-owned but independent company that rents out properties, owns the three-story building that fell down.

It said that its main goal was to help the people who lived in the estate. The government of Jersey said that experts from the UK had come to help local crews look for survivors.

The South West Hazardous Area Response Team and an Urban Search and Rescue Team from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service have both arrived on the island.

The government said that a Chinook helicopter, which is usually used by the military, was going to bring special equipment to the island. Ms. Moore said that people who had to move because of the blast were getting a place to stay.

“This will take a few days, and we will keep everyone updated and informed. We will also do our best to make sure everyone is taken care of,” she said.

On Saturday night, the Town Church opened so islanders could light candles and pay their respects to people who had died.

Dominic Raab, who is the Secretary of Justice and Deputy Prime Minister, tweeted that he was “deeply saddened” by the news.

He said, “I applaud the work of the first responders, and we are ready to help in any way we can.”

The event happened a few days after it was said that three fishermen were missing after a collision at sea on Thursday.

Ms. Moore said, “We must use the island community’s strength as a whole.”

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