LONDON At least one person was killed and about a dozen missing following an explosion on Saturday at a block of flats on the island of Jersey in the English Channel.

Searches are under way, and Jersey Chief of Police Robin Smith said he expected it to take a number of days.

It is a pretty devastating scene… The scene is a very dangerous one for all of our staff, he told the BBC.

He said: I dont know the exact number of the flats destroyed, but we have a three-storey building that has completely collapsed.

Described as, from a demolition point of view, probably as a pancake that has just dropped almost sort of straight down.

A gas leak was suspected as the cause of the blast .Security camera footage showed a fireball engulfing the bayside building followed by thick smoke, and nearby residents windows shook.

Jerseys gas supplier, Island Energy, said it was working with the fire service to understand what happened.

BBC Jersey reporter Chris Craddock, who was near the scene earlier, said: You could see glass, you could see rocks, you could see stones strewn across the area both on the pavement and on the road.

One resident told the BBC she was woken up by what she thought was an earthquake.

The bed started to shake, and there was this massive bang, she said. I checked online for news about an earthquake or lightning, I had no idea what it was.

The BBC reported that police were using specialist resources to find anybody trapped in the rubble.

About 20 to 30 people are being cared for at St Helier Town Hall, the BBC said

Chief Minister Kristina Moore said the island had seen what amazing strength we have within our emergency services, with 21 police officers, nine paramedics and 19 firefighters deployed to the scene.

The Government of Jersey has asked islanders not to go to the Emergency Department unless absolutely necessary.

Jersey is a British Crown Dependency with its own financial and legal systems and a resident population of just over 100,000 people.

The incident caps a tragic week for Jersey whose economy relies on banking, tourism and fishing.

The Coast Guard on Friday abandoned a search for three Jersey fishermen missing for nearly 36 hours after their boat hit a freight ship and sank.

Skipper Michael Michieli and two crew members went missing early on Thursday when their 18m wooden vessel collided with the Commodore Goodwill off Jersey.

Fellow fisherman William Jackson said his friend Michieli was probably one of the most prominent fishermen on the island and in the community.

I was just shocked, absolutely shocked, he told BBC Jersey.

The Commodore Goodwill is owned by Condor Ferries, whose Jersey offices lie near the destroyed apartment block. REUTERS, AFP Your browser does not support iframes, but you can use the following link: Link More On This Topic Chicago building explosion injures 6, fire dept says Explosion in Madrid building kills two people, injures 18