‘We’re No Longer Safe At Home’: Sliema Family Living In Fear After Nailed Plank From Construction Above Falls Into Yard

A Sliema family is currently living in fear that they could find themselves seriously injured or even killed as a result of ongoing construction works in their building.
Jennifer Cortis Naudi, who lives on the ground floor in an apartment block in Tigne Street, Sliema, told Lovin Malta that work is currently ongoing on the seventh floor of the building.
This has meant the family has had to contend with all sorts of inconveniences, from stones and cement falling into their ground floor yard, to the staircase of the apartment being flooded twice, because the contractor failed to take the necessary precautions before it rained.
“No precautions are taken to ensure that other people’s property is safe, but on Saturday it reached a new level because my husband could have been killed,” Cortis Naudi told Lovin Malta.
She recounted how they were at home on Saturday and her husband was pottering about in their yard, which leads to their kitchen.
“He stepped inside and seconds later, this big plank of wood with nails stuck in it falls from the sky. He could have been dead today, or it could have been me, or one of my dogs.”
Despite the severity of the incident, she said the contractor behind the works had not taken any responsibility.
In addition to nearly injuring her husband, the plank also caused some damage to the building’s washroom, with Naudi Cortis left wondering whether the damage will be repaired.

Photos of the yard after the plank of wood fell
“We are no longer safe in our own home,” she said, adding that she could still see a number of wooden planks above her yard and was now afraid to use it.
Lovin Malta contacted the contractor who acknowledged the incident but denied that no health and safety precautions were taken while work was ongoing.
He described the incidents as minor inconveniences and accidents which had occurred despite the precautions taken.
“We’ve finished another two floors in that building and it is only now that some problems have come up,” he said, adding that accidents sometimes happened despite all precautions taken.
Asked specifically about the plank of wood that fell, the contractor said that it had fallen while workers were trying to dislodge it from its place, and hadn’t fallen because the site was left unsecured.
He insisted that the remaining planks were fixed and there was no danger of them falling.
As for the damage to the washroom, he pointed out that the damage was only to a small aluminum pipe, but said he had spoken with residents and would have it fixed before works were completed.
Despite this, Cortis Naudi said that the risk to her and her family’s health was unacceptable.
If you’ve experienced a similar incident you can report it to us through Planning Web – an online platform aimed at increasing transparency and accountability to Malta’s construction and planning sector.
Tag someone who needs to read this