Psychological help, material support for victims

The Naxxar explosion that left two people dead has claimed a fourth house that was yesterday emptied of its contents after it was determined that the wall next to the explosion site was still standing only because it was being supported by a mound of rubble.

Two days after the explosion rocked Triq Ħal Dgħejf in Naxxar on Wednesday - a day before the weekly Thursday market in the road - residents strive to come to terms with the repercussions of the blast with the help of Aġenzija Appoġġ and the Housing Authority.

A spokesman for Appoġġ said the agency had been helping victims with their psychological and emotional needs since Wednesday. It was also assisting the two children of 33-year-old Sina Sammut - one of the two victims of the blast whose body was found on Thursday morning.

Mrs Sammut, who had taken her son and daughter to school before going shopping, had just entered her house when the blast occurred.

Other victims who lost their home or whose homes were damaged have been provided with access to a social worker who will help them with their material necessities and also follow up on their emotional needs, Appoġġ said, adding that it was working closely with the Housing Authority.

The Housing Authority told The Times it had provided three families with alternative accommodation in Qawra.

"This accommodation will be temporary until the families sort out their housing problem. Some of them declared they were home owners and their property was insured. If the families are not home owners or their property was not insured the authority will help them, either by giving them a rent subsidy or permanent alternative accommodation," a spokesman for the authority said.

Some residents of Triq Ħal Dgħejf, many still dressed in black having just attended Mrs Sammut's funeral, gathered in the road and offered a helping hand to those worse hit by the blast. Other residents expressed frustration at the situation that left them to cope with extensive damages.

Women swept the broken glass and debris outside their homes as members of the Civil Protection Department (CPD), the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM), the Fire Rescue and the police continued working round the clock to clear the area from the collapsed masonry in an exercise complicated by the fear that unexploded fireworks might still be lying under the debris.

CDP director Peter Cordina said his men persevered in their search for the body of Paul Camilleri, 47, who owned the garage where the explosion is believed to have occurred. Some body parts were found on Wednesday in the street and inside the garage.

Mr Cordina said Mr Camilleri's dog was found dead in the rubble yesterday afternoon.

Wednesday's explosion rekindled issues on the need to tighten regulations governing the fireworks industry.

Six years ago, Sabrina Buckland and her family were the victims of the illegal manufacturing of fireworks. Their lives changed for the worse on June 7, 2002 when 44-year-old Edgar Grima was illegally manufacturing petards in a garage beneath their maisonette in Fgura.

"It's not like another explosion had to take place for us to remember the ordeal. But it was a trauma for us although we did think ourselves lucky when considering that a mother of two died," she told The Times adding that the worst part of it all was that the man responsible for the explosion that demolished their house was fined Lm200 and was still out and about when he failed to pay the Buckland family the €27,952 (Lm12,000) in damages ordered by the court.

The explosion also brings memories of blasts in similar circumstances in Qormi and Munxar years back.

On Sunday morning, a car boot sale will be held at Razzett tal-Ħbiberija between 6 a.m. and noon where people will be selling items and freshly-baked cakes to raise money for the Naxxar explosion victims.

The Malta College of Art, Science and Technology said yesterday it was raising funds to help the family of an employee, Edward Bugeja who lost his house in the explosion. Mcast is asking anyone willing to help to deposit money in the Bugeja family Naxxar accident fund - HSBC account 4001 7049 454.