Jury Hears of Missed Gas Warning Before Haut Du Mont Explosion

Jurors have heard the 999 call made by Haut Du Mont resident Louisa De Almeida, who reported a strong smell of gas inside her flat just hours before the explosion that killed her and nine others in December 2022.

The call, made at around 8:45pm on 9 December, came shortly after another member of the public had reported an intense smell of gas near the flats and warned that it could cause an explosion.

Mrs De Almeida told emergency services there was a strong smell of gas outside the building and inside her living room, adding that she had no gas appliances and was concerned there could be a leak.

However, the jury heard that her report of gas inside the flat was not passed correctly to the Fire and Rescue Service. Advocate Simon Thomas said an internal gas report would normally have led to an evacuation and a larger emergency response.

Instead, one fire crew attended, did not investigate inside the flats and the building was not evacuated. The fire service's gas detection equipment was also described as inadequate and was set to detect methane rather than propane.

Island Energy's on-call engineer Leigh Hunt attended the area but did not visit Haut Du Mont. He and engineer John Armstrong inspected an excavation site where a gas pipe had been cut earlier that day, but detected no gas before leaving at around 9:30pm.

Advocate Thomas described the response as "entirely inadequate", while saying the ultimate responsibility for detecting gas leaks lay with Island Energy.

At 3:53am on 10 December, gas escaping at Haut Du Mont ignited, causing a major explosion. A second, smaller blast followed shortly afterwards.

Ten residents died, including Mrs De Almeida. Three gas engineers - John Wright, Lee Ward and John Armstrong - deny gross negligence manslaughter. Island Energy denies health and safety failings.

The trial continues.