UPDATED: Teenager dies after fall

Mario Aquilina

Oct 6th 2008, 18:26

@Vanessa Pace: "and although in losing someone it is very hard to give thanks, thats what needs to be done .... give thanks and praise for having known and loved someone who came into this life for a reason, and pray for his soul that it may be purified and saved."

This way of looking at things sounds very much like poor consolation for any human being who has experienced the death of someone close. Why do we feel the need to direct people about how they should feel?

Ronnie Gauci

Oct 6th 2008, 18:08

I agree totally with Mr Bartolo, the OCCUPATIONAL HSA has nothing to do with such incidents as it did not occur on a workplace, even if so the OHSA still would have been free of any guilt as it's mainly the employer who is responsible for safety in his workplace. The OHSA would just be a tool in his hand to help him out in such mission. Then the local OHSA is short-staffed and has been so for years to cover the whole island and make an adequate amount of inspections and it's here where the Govt. has some responsibilty.

Bad luck caused this accident as this poor fella's feet slipped and he fell 5 storeys down. Because of such incidents we cannot pretend to turn our mighty bastions into cages. As stated below if you decide to sit or stand dangerously near the brink of a cliff or a bastion and fall then the responsibility of your actions is yours and yours alone. Unluckily when we are young the spirit of adventure makes us do dangerous things.

Vanessa Pace

Oct 6th 2008, 10:38

It's very sad when such a young person loses his life .... but has anyone stopped to contemplate that this young man (and anyone who leaves 'before his time') had a journey to complete on this earth, and it was his time to go? The love he brought with him to this life and to the people who knew him for the years he lived should be proof of that, and although in losing someone it is very hard to give thanks, thats what needs to be done .... give thanks and praise for having known and loved someone who came into this life for a reason, and pray for his soul that it may be purified and saved. Condolences to his family and friends.

Robert Micallef

Oct 6th 2008, 10:00

My condolences to the family.

I want to point out that I do not believe in closing the bastions to public. I used to go a lot to Mdina and sit there on the bastions but I did this carefully and so did all my friends and no accidents ever happened. Everyone is responsible for his/her actions and yes sadly accidents do happen. But if we were to close the bastions shouldn't we do the same for all the roofs being houses, churches, feast clubs etc, all the cliffs higher than 2 stories around Malta and Gozo and so on.

e. bartolo

Oct 6th 2008, 09:12

Condolences go to his family. This is a tragic event which should teach all of us a lesson. We have a duty protect our youths. All of us know, that youth is a tricky age at which one can easily expose oneself to unjustified dangers.

May God be with his soul and with his family at this tragic moment.

GS Darmanin

Oct 6th 2008, 08:42

Condolences to the family and may the kid's soul rest in peace.


@ Denis Bartolo

It appears that some people do not have grip on what real Health & Safety is all about. Also do not know that the O in OHSA means occupational as in work related. This accident is not work related and definitely cannot be compared to construction sites and attributed to OHSA.

There are also some myths going around such as H&S is about completely eleminating all risks in life including in play. Browsing in the UK H&S websites such as HSE & IOSH will help you understand better.

Henri Scerri

Oct 6th 2008, 07:59

A tragic and sad loss. No parent wants to see his child go this way. It got the shivers back to me reminding me of a similar accident I witnessed in the 80s, when I lost a friend who fell off at Tigne. He never regained consciousness and died a few days after in hospital. The trauma and scene will remain in one's memory forever.
So please, do think of the trauma his friends who were with him, are going through. I would not want any of my children to witness such a thing happening to a friend in front of their eyes.

Denis Catania

Oct 5th 2008, 23:33

This is a tragedy. My condolences to his family and friends. May he rest in peace. From reading some of these post, he had a lot of good friends.

G.Hoare

Oct 5th 2008, 23:02

MY heart goes out to Brian' s family and friends in these sad moments i offer my prayers for you to find comfort.


@ Denis Bartolo ,i find your comments very irritating and shameful ,pointing a finger
at the authorities. We are responsible for our actions.

Nigel

Oct 5th 2008, 22:27

BRIAN I MISS U SO MUCH I SAW U THAT DAY U DONT KNOW HOW MUCH U MEAN TO ME UR ALWAYS IN MY HEART AND I WILL NEVER 4GET U UR ALWAYS MY BEST FRIEND 4EVER THX 4 THE GR8 TIMES UR WERE THE BEST FRIEND ANY1 CAN ASK 4 ! PLS PRAY 4 ME ITS NOT THE SAME WITHOUT U MAN GOD I MISS U !!! U R 4EVER IN OUR HEARTS BRIAN TRUE FRIENDS NEVER SAY GOODBYE ="( I LOVE U SO MUCH THX 4 EVERYTHING GOD BLESS U ALWAYS AND 4EVER I WILL NEVER 4GET U AND I MEAN IT

R.I.P BRIAN
i will miss you !!!!!

FROM BEST FRIEND NIGEL

Therese Vella

Oct 5th 2008, 21:29

Young people have a strong penchant for daredevil activities - some like to drive fast, jump from high places into the sea, take drugs just for kicks, and this - sitting over the bastions to chat, eat burgers or smooch. I've seen large groups of youths celebrating on the bastions at Hastings after the last O'Level exam last May. It's part of the youth culture to live for today and not think of consequences. I don't think they want any concerned adults to stop them having fun in this way.

P.DELICATA

Oct 5th 2008, 19:13

Brian was a great friend to me
yest i talked to him . his last words to me were best friends :'(
i saw brian after he fell and I will never will forget the scene
R.I.P BRIAN
i will miss you

Denis Bartolo

Oct 5th 2008, 18:57

It surely is a gross case of negligence from the Health and Safety department as nothing was done before or after the tragic loss of a young lady 2 years ago.

Take it political take it whatever way you wish, the tragedy this young mans loss of life has brought to his family and friends could have been avoided.

So many items, objects, buildings and other which cause a plain health and safety hazard are in abundance.

Theses are also found in new contructions which have been meant to be monitored and approved by Mepa.

What is just right now is to sue the goverment department concered for gross negligence, having taken no deterrent steps at such sites after a similar accident 2 years ago.

Seems the cheap cost of doing something superceeds the element of safety!!!!!!...

Whoever is responsible let this tragic accident repeat itself.

IT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED

Trust they all sleep well .

Rebecca Deboino

Oct 5th 2008, 16:57

i'm gonna miss you brian....

Marianna Galea Xuereb

Oct 5th 2008, 16:05

Well said Mr. Eric Camilleri!

At whatever age we may be, we ought all to put aside silly pride and take heed of timely health and safety warnings that well meaning friends (and even complete strangers) sometimes point out to us.

I also recall reading about a youth falling to death from cliffs/rocks (somewhere around Mellieha a few years ago) while fooling around with friends.

Please people! Never shy away from pointing out risky behaviour to others, even if you fear you might be thought a right "know-it-all", busybody, nerd, wet blanket or whatever disparaging noun or description is now trendy among snobs and conceited individuals when the latter feel a perverse need to put down a civil minded individual.

Authorities ought to do their part to educate, legislate and put up safety barriers as the case may be. Yes, we could do with a “nanny state” where several aspects are concerned. But at the end of the day authoritarian officials cannot be everywhere all the time. Civil minded individuals - may we all thus become – could eliminate many dangerous situations if only they would stop being too humble, shy and timid to speak up at the right time.

C.Catania

Oct 5th 2008, 15:32

RIP

james dawson

Oct 5th 2008, 14:49

he was my best bro we go to school but no more he was a good boy and i will miss him i have don'T a pic of him

Patrick Vassallo

Oct 5th 2008, 13:41

I know the family personally it is such a pity and it breaks your heart. Please stop inventing and pointing fingers. Accidents like this happen and break many hearts. So if we cannot fix a broken heart like their families and friends. let's help BY praying for the kids soul and be there for the family.
Arguing about a loss like this never helped anyone get any better.
If you weren't there during the accident than don't speak cause you will repent for the damage.
The child was well taught !! and the family was always there!! they are such great parents.... it's a pity. Don't make their pain bigger!!
MAY GOD BE WITH YOU!!

Raymond Sammut

Oct 5th 2008, 12:31

The issue here is safety. With so many kilometres of bastions in Malta, much of which easily accessible to the public, education is needed. Limiting access at certain locations may also be required. Councils affected by these tragedies need to take action.

It should be reasonable to make sitting, standing or lying on these structures an offense punishable by law and subject to a fine. Signs erected at the appropriate places would help to remind people that they need to treat these structures with a great deal of respect both for their own safety and for the safety of others.

Jo.Galea

Oct 5th 2008, 11:35

When I was a teenager (80's) still going out with friends these meeting places were very popular because there were no such many other entertainment places around. Iv'e known that people always have the habit of sitting on these bastions and some others trying to impress.

I have never used these bastions as a sitting or a dancing place because the idea of losing balance and falling down always scared me to death.

We are solely responsible for our own actions.

Eric Camilleri

Oct 5th 2008, 11:01

Condolences to the family. Sitting on the bastions is dangerous. For youngsters it's a show of look I can do and go where few others can and I also can get the best view in town. Point is many of us in our youth used to do it too. Hastings, Mdina, Senglea, any Bastion that offered us access. Nothing different from then and now but recalling those times, alchohol apart, I have to say how unneccessarily dangerous and immature it was for us to take such risks considering that mistakes do happen and as we can see, such mistakes cost lives. I do remember a Police officer who used to pester us (in his goodwill) until we eventually lost interest in the Senglea bastions. Maybe incidentally he saved one of our lives and thus wardens, Police, etc should take action if they notice such during their beat. It is practically impossible to physically barricade all the bastions. An education campaign can help, plus some good sense between groups of friends when they see things are not right.

LGrima

Oct 5th 2008, 10:30

Warning Signs about such danger are well overdue limiting the possibility of similar tragedies.Relevant Authorities please take note.

peter grech

Oct 5th 2008, 09:45

May god help the boys parents and family. RIP dear maltese citizen

Franco Farrugia

Oct 5th 2008, 09:43

It is considered trendy, among the young and not so young, to lie down on the Mdina bastions. It has to be stopped.

Charles Sammut

Oct 5th 2008, 09:42

Recently there was another similar accident. This time it was off St Barbara bastions. A young woman's mobile phone slipped from her hand and she fell over trying to grab it. She landed on top of another woman who was sitting below. Both survived albeit with serious injuries and I think permanent disablement.

Now that the bastions are going to be restored, shouldn't some thought be given to some sort of safety enhancement? Not easy to incorporate without defacing the bastions. Perhaps even a thin steel cable running about 20cm high along the top would be helpful and unobtrusive.

We have lost these unfortunate people, let us not lose the lesson as well.

Olina Tretyak

Oct 5th 2008, 08:23

Do you remember the tragic death of a 19-year-old girl on New Year’s Eve 2006 in Valletta after falling off the bastions next to the Mediterranean Conference Centre?

M.Debono

Oct 5th 2008, 08:09

Agree with Ms. Mifsud.

It takes nothing to lose your balance on a bastion. I have seen people drinking alcohol and trying to play the hero on Mdina bastions, to impress his/her friends and passers-by.

Maybe it is time to place more signs and some sort of fencing, similar to the ones placed around the lower part of the bastions, near Valletta Waterfront, to protect traffic from falling stones.

May he rest in peace and his family is consoled for this tragic loss.

marika mifsud

Oct 5th 2008, 07:57

What a tragedy for the boy`s family.
It terrifies me when I see people sitting on the bastions (even in Mdina) and wish people in their group would warn them and insist they get down.
Another danger is sitting on the railings at Font Ghadir - obviously not such a height as the bastions but high enough.