WATCH: Two Dead As Surprise Storm Wreaks Havoc On Maltese Islands On Carnival Weekend
A freak storm hit the Maltese islands yesterday causing havoc on Carnival weekend, with one man losing his life after a tree fell on his car and leaving another woman in a critical condition.
Meanwhile, a small ship was crushed to the shore in St Paul’s Bay, ironically on the feast of St Paul’s Shipwreck in Malta.
Due to the insane conditions, many Carnival activities that were planned for this morning had to be cancelled, after months of planning and preparation.
A tree crushed a car, killing one man
A 38-year-old Romanian man from Mosta has died and a 32-year-old Romanian woman is still in critical condition after a tree feel on their Nissan car in Mrieħel at around 6:30am Saturday morning.
Emergency services were called to the scene immediately, including a medical team from Mater Dei as well as Civil Protection unit.
The Civil Protection unit was able to get the victims out of the car. Traffic was closed off in Notabile Street, and a magisterial inquiry has been opened.
Inspector Rodrick Spiteri is investigating.
A boat was smashed against the shore
A single hull bunkering tanker named Hephaestus, which is registered in Togo, was crushed against the rocks in Qawra due to the strong winds and waves.
In footage shared by Bay Easy, the ship can be seen sustaining damage as it is thrown against the shore.
The ship became loose at around 3am and ended up smashing against the rocks near the national aquarium at around 5:15am.
It is not known if anyone was hurt once the boat became loose.
Carnival activities were cancelled
This morning’s carnival activities were cancelled after heavy winds and rain continued to persist. Activities planned for Valletta this morning were meant to start at 9:30 am.
Artistic Director Jason Busuttil said that they hoped to hold the activities later on in the day.
This comes after last night’s events had to be cancelled.
St Vincent De Paul was flooded
The RB2 ward of the St Vincent De Paul facilities was flooded last night, The Shift News reported. This ward was filled with elderly patients, who were forced to evacuate the ward after the rain hit.
Some 1,000 patients live in the residence. Water was seen dripping and trailing down the ceiling and walls.
Towels were being used as a makeshift attempt to stop the flooding.
An elderly man slipped and lost his life
This morning at 9:30am, an elderly man walking along Triq Ix-Xatt in Isla slipped and died on the spot. He sustained grievous injuries due to his fall and passed away.
The 79-year-old man was declared dead by the medical team called in to assist him. The police told Lovin Malta that they could not say with certainty that his death was related to the storm but there didn’t seem to be any obstacles in his way or in his vicinity.
A magisterial inquiry has been ordered to investigate the death.
The wind blew someone’s sofa onto a motorcycle
A motorcyclist woke up to find a sofa had been blown onto his bike in Triq Patri Wistin, Marsascala. The driver believes that the sofa was on someone’s balcony, and the wind must have blown it over the railings.
He said that he believed neighbours were kind-hearted enough to contact him and take responsibility for their flying sofa that damaged his motorcycle.
What other damage did the storm cause?
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