Bones found off Delimara probably animal remains

Bones recovered from the seabed off Delimara Point are likely to be animal and not human remains, sources said yesterday.

The bones were possibly placed by fishermen in a wire cage to trap octopi.

There was initially a suspicion that they could be the remains of Brian Rosso, a businessman allegedly dumped into the sea after being murdered last October. The area is close to the spot where a search for Mr Rosso was carried out by divers a few months ago.

Two men have since been charged with Mr Rosso's murder but the body has not been found.

The cage was lifted from a depth of around 25 metres by Civil Protection Department divers some 100 metres off Delimara Point yesterday morning.

Neither the shape nor the size of the recovered remains resemble those of humans, sources close to the police said.

Ten regular divers and volunteers from the Civil Protection Department under the direction of CPD director Peter Cordina had been waiting for the sea to calm down to continue a search which started on Thursday.

Three CPD dinghies with divers on board went on site at about 8.30 a.m. Ninety minutes later the divers brought the cage to the surface. It was taken to the Marsa CPD base where it was handed over to the police.

Inspector Chris Pullicino is investigating.