Jersey flats explosion: Tenth person injured dies

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Kathleen McGinnessImage source, Family handout
Image caption,

Kathleen McGinness lived in a neighbouring property but was injured in the explosion

A woman who was injured in an explosion at a block of flats in Jersey earlier this month has died, taking the death toll to 10.

Kathleen McGinness, 73, lived in a building adjacent to Haut du Mont flats in St Helier, which were destroyed in the early hours of 10 December.

She had been taken to hospital following the blast but died on Christmas Day, Jersey Police said.

An investigation into the cause of the explosion on Pier Road is continuing.

In a statement issued earlier, Chief of the States of Jersey Police Robin Smith said his thoughts were with all the families affected.

"This incident has been incredibly challenging for everyone involved and I would like to praise the families for their stoicism in the face of such tragic circumstances," he said.

"The island is rightly behind them and on-hand to support, but first and foremost we are there together to give them their privacy and time to grieve."

He said Ms McGinness's family were being supported by specially trained officers.

Image source, Family Handout
Image caption,

Top row, left to right: Derek and Sylvia Ellis, Romeu and Louise de Almeida. Bottom row, left to right: Raymond Brown, Billy Marsden and Peter Bowler

The identities of the nine other people killed in the three-storey residential block were confirmed following post-mortem examinations.

They were: Peter Bowler, 72, Raymond Brown, 71, Romeu and Louise De Almeida, 67 and 64, Derek and Sylvia Ellis, 61 and 73, Ken and Jane Ralph, 72 and 71, and 63-year-old Billy Marsden.

Image source, Family Handout
Image caption,

Ken and Jane Ralph were the last of nine people missing since the explosion to be named by police

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