Another fireworks factory explosion – the fifth this year

Published: September 5, 2010 at 11:35pm

Three men and one woman have died and two men have been critically injured in a fireworks factory explosion in Gozo this evening. The woman was only 21 and newly married. Her husband died with her. So did his father.

This is the wake-up call tal-Beati Pawli.




18 Comments Comment

  1. Turu says:

    IMMA XI HAGA HAZINA HEMM ZGUR

    • D. Muscat says:

      Iva u dil-haga hazina hija l-kwalita tal-materjal impurtat. Servolo Delicata li qieghed fl-ispettorat tan-nar qalha car u tond fl-intervista moghtija lil Elaine Attard tal-Malta Independent. Tal-Mosta u din issa tal-Gharb juru bic-car li tista mhux taghmel kontrolli u zzomm kamra tan-nar up to date … jekk il-kwalita tal-materjal impurtat hija difettuza kollu ghalxejn.

      Niftakar li meta l-importatur tal-materjal kien Pugliesevich l-incidenti kienu ftit li xejn. Bhalissa l-importaturi tal-materjal huma Cali Briffa u Saviour Muscat (missier Joseph Muscat). Nistaqsihom lil dawn it-tnejn, min fejn qed iggibuhom l-isquibs (ematches), il-Magal, il-pelklorat etc? Nittama li mhux mic-Cina u mbaghad tbieghuh daqslikieku hu ta kwalita gholja.

      • Daniel says:

        Imbaghad in-nies jipreferulek logħob tan-nar Ċiniż minn dak Malti, u jgħidulek li l-murtali Maltin huma perikolużi. Grazzi tal-info D. Muscat.

      • Nathalie says:

        With all due respect, Servolo Delicata is no fireworks expert – ask anyone who has ever been inside a fireworks factory. While there may be a smidgen of truth in what he’s saying, it is NOT the only thing that needs to be addressed.

  2. Harry Purdie says:

    Why don’t we invite the Taliban in to teach these local, seemingly incompetent, nutters how to handle explosives? At least, when the Taliban blow themselves up, they do it on purpose. So, so sad, but so predictable. Next month, all forgotten. My sympathy to the families.

    • D. Muscat says:

      The Gharb fireworks factory was a privately owned enterprise and sold its products to everyone. Indeed many hotels bought those fireworks for their New Year’s Eve shows. No Talibanism here. Please Purdie, stop using tragedies to push your agenda. You really sound sick when you do this.

      My sympathy to the victims’ families.

      • Harry Purdie says:

        So,, Mr. Muscat. You condone incompetent, unregulated behaviour and stupidity. I wager you’re a hunter also.

      • Marku says:

        Harrie Purdie: D. Muscat seems to know what he’s talking about. Just because you (and I) don’t have much interest in fireworks doesn’t mean we should ridicule everything said about them. For all I know it may be true that the manufacturers are working with faulty materials and so dying through no fault of their own.

      • Harry Purdie says:

        Marku, I ridicule no one. Professional chemists test raw materials before utilizing them. Apparently, if this was the cause, these people did not. I question the lack of enforcement of regulations, not the ‘love’ of their hobby.

  3. Rover says:

    Clearly this “loghob tan-nar” is nothing but another version of Russian roulette. How truly ironic that we should call fireworks: games of fire. It is practised by amateurs who are daily putting their lives at risk and in the process endangering the lives of others. I dread to think how these ‘games of fire’ are transported from one town to the next or indeed across the Gozo channel.

  4. Leonard says:

    At the public vigil after Kurt Cobain had killed himself, his wife asked the people present to shout loudly, “asshole”. I don’t expect the priest at the funeral service for those who get killed in these explosions to use the same word, but it’s time to stop pussyfooting around and say things as they are. These people, especially if they are married, are not heroes or martyrs, but selfish egoists.

    This fireworks business is just that – a business. Who is buying the fireworks – the local parish/church or the band club, or some committee with representatives from both? The next time people come knocking on your door asking “xi haga ghal festa”, think; you may be contributing to another death.

  5. Red nose says:

    No comments seem to be taken heed of by the authorities!!Hunting goes on – DELIZZJU – fireworks manufacturing goes on – DELIZZJU- take care of us and we will vote for you next election.

  6. Edward Caruana Galizia says:

    Could someone please, please launch an enquiry into this matter, please? Is it the weather that is causing this? Or the type of gun powder? Or is there a flaw in the way it is all being handled?

    I have asked these questions before and all people do is give the same typical delusional answer.

    “We don’t know why because it isn’t supposed to happen”

    No kidding! We all know it isn’t supposed to happen. Not at any stage of the process is it supposed to happen. Thanks for cracking that one for us. The fact of the matter is it did five times in under a year.

    The government really needs to find out why.

  7. Preacher says:

    I feel sorry for the ones that are living. What the hell did these people think they were doing – baking a cake? She went there pregnant! LISTEN UP: PLAYING WITH EXPLOSIVES CAN KILL YOU.

  8. Anthony says:

    If my memory serves me well the late Mr Puglisevich told me many years ago that he imports all explosive material exclusively from ICI. Imperial Chemical Industries was one of the great, prestigious British conglomerates. It has now been absorbed, like most other good things British, into the Dutch AkzoNobel.

    I remember him saying that he would never consider any other supplier because of the potential risk. He was proud of the stringent conditions under which these materials were produced, transported and stored. ICI itself ascertained and certified the standards of the storage facilities in Malta.

    I have not got a clue as to what the situation is nowadays.

    I would dread to think. Is it too much to ask for reassurance ?

  9. MF says:

    In my opinion, fireworks should never stop ….. why? Because people who manufacture them love doing so very much. They do so at their own risk, they know what dangers they’re facing and they love doing it so much they risk their lives.

    This is just like a skydiver who loves falling off a plane so much he risks dying, or like the scuba diver who likes the underwater world so much he risks blocking himself in some underwater cave and dying there.

    Some might think I’m being an egoist because they have wives and kids etc etc, but wives should see that before marrying not after.

    • Pat says:

      No one is claiming they should stop. If a skydiver thought it was a good idea to dive, head first and without a parachute, into a crowd it would deserve condemnation.

      When a complete and utter moron figures it’s all good and dandy to store fireworks in a populated area he isn’t just putting himself at risk, you know.

      I hate it when problems with such simple solutions just aren’t solved.

      – Negligence in handling fireworks – do spot checks to ensure rules are being followed.

      – Drunk driving – start administering breathalyzer tests outside drinking areas (parties, discos, wedding receptions etc).

      – Price irregularities from local retailers – name and shame (or do like the insane Times reports – hint at which places they visited).

      – Students skinny dipping – do nothing and get on with your life.

      See, four problems solved without any focus groups, discussions or voting involved.

  10. George Mifsud says:

    Hey MF

    And you and I as taxpayers are supposed to take care of the wives who should have ‘seen’ before they were married – great!

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