Cause of Haut du Mont explosion (FOI)

Request

Please could the Viscount's department advise what caused an explosion on Pier Road in Haut Du Mont on the 10 December 2022, which killed 10 people and displaced 29 households. To date there does not appear to be a conclusive explanation of why this occurred.

Response

It is widely reported public knowledge that inquests for the victims of the explosion have been opened by the Deputy Viscount as Coroner and adjourned pending completion of a criminal investigation by the States of Jersey Police and the conclusion of any consequent criminal proceedings.

As allowed by Article 10 paragraph (2) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011, we neither confirm nor deny whether the Viscount’s Department holds any information in response to this request.

Having considered the circumstances we are satisfied that, in all the circumstances of the case, it is in the public interest for the Viscount’s Department to neither confirm nor deny whether they hold any information in response to this request; this is because the Coroner has adjourned the inquests of the victims precisely to allow the police criminal investigation of the explosion to proceed unimpeded and it would not be in the public interest to provide any further information until any consequent criminal proceedings are concluded.

Article applied

Article 10 - Obligation of scheduled public authority to confirm or deny holding Information

(1) Subject to paragraph (2), if –

(a) a person makes a request for information to a scheduled public authority; and

(b) the authority does not hold the information, it must inform the applicant accordingly.

(2) If a person makes a request for information to a scheduled public authority and –

(a) the information is absolutely exempt information or qualified exempt information; or

(b) if the authority does not hold the information, the information would be absolutely exempt

information or qualified exempt information if it had held it, the authority may refuse to inform the applicant whether or not it holds the information if it is satisfied that, in all the circumstances of the case, it is in the public interest to do so.

(3) If a scheduled public authority so refuses –

(a) it shall be taken for the purpose of this Law to have refused to supply the information requested on the ground that it is absolutely exempt information; and

(b) it need not inform the applicant of the specific ground upon which it is refusing the request or, if the authority does not hold the information, the specific ground upon which it would have refused the request had it held the information.