A Decade Of Danger: No Less Than 49 Lives Claimed By Malta’s Modern Construction Boom
The true human cost of Malta’s construction boom between 2010 and 2022 has been revealed in a groundbreaking new report from the Public Interest Litigation Network (PILN) by the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation.
The alarming data reveals that at least 49 people lost their lives on construction sites during this period, with the years 2021 and 2022 marking the deadliest years with nine and eight fatalities respectively.
With these shocking numbers, come equally alarming statistics.
Some court fines related to these deaths were as low as €1,000 – and a staggering 68% of these fatality cases still remain open in court to this day.
Examining these fatalities across four-year intervals uncovers a disturbing trend.
The frequency of deaths increased in alignment with the rise in construction activity across Malta.
The 2018 to 2022 interval was almost triple in reported fatalities when compared to the previous periods, culminating in 29 reported deaths.
The latest interval of fatalities has been updated to 29* deaths
An analysis of 39 publicly available fatality incidents offers more insight into the common causes of these tragedies.
The leading cause of fatalities, accounting for two-thirds of the cases, were falls from heights.
The threat of machinery-related incidents followed at 18%, with the machinery either hitting or crushing the workers.
Wall collapses accounted for 10% of the reported incidents, with the remaining fatalities attributed to being hit by materials or debris and one unfortunate incident involving an electric shock.
The data on non-fatal injuries within the construction sector is even more obscured.
Attempts to collate data on non-fatal construction-related injuries from the OHSA, the MPF, and the DSS were met with challenges due to the lack of systematic documentation. The available statistics on injuries are mainly based on Injury Benefit claims made to the DSS, but these figures do not account for the injuries of undocumented workers or injuries to bystanders not involved in the construction work.
Find out more about the darker side to Malta’s modern construction boom by checking out the full report on PILN’s website.
Are you surprised by these numbers?