Briefly

JERSEY

3 dead, several missing after blast

An explosion and fire in an apartment building on the Channel Island of Jersey killed at least three people and left several missing, police said on Saturday. Robin Smith, chief officer of the States of Jersey Police, said during a news conference that "around a dozen "residents were missing following the blast in the town of St Helier. Smith said a three-story building had "completely collapsed" and there was also damage to a nearby building. He described the scene as "devastating".

UNITED STATES

Longtime parachute record-setter dies

Retired Air Force Col. Joseph Kittinger, whose 1960 parachute jump from almost 32 kilometers above the Earth stood as a world record for more than 50 years, died Friday in Florida. He was 94.The cause was lung cancer. Kittinger, then an Air Force captain and pilot, gained worldwide fame when he completed three jumps over 10 months from a gondola that was hoisted into the stratosphere by large helium balloons.

Agencies Via Xinhua