Prague crash holidaymakers due back

Most of the Maltese involved in a coach crash in the Czech Republic on New Year's Eve were expected back in Malta early this morning on an Air Malta flight from the Czech capital, Prague.

One of the passengers was expected to be taken off the aircraft on a stretcher to be conveyed to St Luke's Hospital by ambulance. Another two were to be taken straight to hospital by taxi.

The three passengers were only released from Kutna Hora Hospital yesterday evening. However, none of their injuries is thought to be permanent.

Emily Pace Ross, who lost her left arm as a result of the accident and suffered a massive loss of blood, has been taken out of intensive care and is now in a stable condition.

However, she will remain at Kutna Hora Hospital for another week. Her husband, George, who was also the tour leader, and her sister Joan Cachia, are staying with her.

Mrs Pace Ross was yesterday visited by her three children who flew to Linz, in Austria in the morning before taking a taxi to the hospital. They were expected to return to Malta with the rest of the group early this morning.

Thirteen Maltese were injured when their coach skidded and ended up on its side in a trench while on a sightseeing trip at around 11 a.m. on New Year's Eve. There were 37 Maltese on board.

Seven of the 13 who were injured had to be hospitalised but two were discharged within a few hours. The five who remained in hospital suffering from broken limbs and fractures were all women aged between 28 and 67.

Speaking at a news conference yesterday, Mondial Holidays managing director Martin Degiorgio said that members of the group reported that the coach had skidded because of ice on the road and not as a result of speed.

However, the official legal expert reports have still not been published.

Mr Degiorgio expressed his appreciation for the support of several individuals since the incident. He singled out an official Czech tourist guide and Malta's consul in the Czech Republic, Ernest Flamini, who is also Air Malta's manager in the country.

He thanked Air Malta, which had decided to replace the Boeing 737 scheduled for today's flight with a larger Airbus A320. The airline had shouldered the additional cost of Lm4,000.

Help was also forthcoming from Corinthia which has two hotels in Prague. Passengers were offered rooms at Corinthia Panorama Hotel for the hours between their checking out of their hotel until their late night checkout.

Mr Degiorgio said the group had been in low spirits following the accident and although they had been given the option to continue with their tour, all had decided to cancel their planned New Year's Eve dinner and the remaining excursion to Dresden.

However, a coach to the hospital was organised every day for those who wished to visit their friends. Many of the uninjured passengers had also offered to donate blood immediately after the accident but this was not necessary as blood was available at the hospital.

Mr Degiorgio said Mondial's offices in Valletta were kept open until 10 p.m. on New Year's Eve and also opened on New Year's Day to assist the relatives of people on the tour.

Gasan Mamo, Mondial's insurers, also promised to make a special effort with the claims from passengers.

Last year Mondial Group of Companies took more than 1,000 of its 16,000 passengers to Prague.

The accident was the second mishap for the group on their Prague holiday. Their visit started under a cloud when their Air Malta jet skidded on the runway on arrival on December 27. No one was injured in that mishap.