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Jersey gas company expected safety to be paramount, court hears
Overview
A court has heard that the fatal gas explosion at Haut du Mont flats in Jersey in December 2022, which killed 10 people, occurred because gas workers ignored company procedures and failed to carry out necessary safety tests.
Key points
- The fatal blast occurred at Haut du Mont flats in Jersey in the early hours of 10 December 2022, killing 10 people.
- Gas workers Neil Armstrong, John Wright and Lee Ward deny 10 counts of gross negligence manslaughter, while Island Energy pleads not guilty to two health and safety breaches.
- Advocate Mike Preston, defending Island Energy, told Jersey's Royal Court that the explosion happened because workers chose not to follow established safety procedures.
- The court heard that management was untruthfully told a pressure test had been completed, and that carrying out the test would have found the leak and prevented the explosion.