'Youths sprayed gas' that led to bus evacuation

Two youths travelling on a bus on Tuesday afternoon sprayed a gas which caused breathing problems for a number of passengers, a Malta Transport Authority (ADT) spokesman said yesterday.

The Times yesterday reported that the bus, travelling from St Julians to Valletta, was forced to stop in Ta' Xbiex after rear passengers started pushing their way to the front in order to get out of the vehicle as a sharp smell was causing them to cough and gasp for air.

Eventually all passengers had to vacate the bus because it had become difficult to breathe.

When contacted by The Times on Tuesday afternoon, the spokesman said she felt the incident was serious enough to merit an investigation and that the newspaper would be given an answer to its questions on Wednesday. The investigation was carried out yesterday.

The spokesman said the bus driver had realised that two commuters had sprayed something which caused respiratory problems. "He stopped the bus and tried to catch up with the two youngsters involved but they managed to escape using the back door," the spokesman continued.

The whole incident did not last more than 10 minutes.

The spokesman said the driver was asked why he did not inform the ADT and he replied that since he had taken stock of the situation, the youngsters had managed to get away and the passengers arrived safely at their destination, he did not feel he had to report the incident.

The spokesman said the incident has not been reported to the police due to lack of information.