Lucky escape for St Paul's Bay couple whose roof collapsed

Cases like these bring a lump to me and my familiy's throats everytime we hear about them.
Our mother was the victim in a similar case which happened in April 2000, in Sliema.
She was buried under rubble when the house next door had been knocked down and excavation works were in progress. One thing that should be put in place is not the actual deposit which is deposited by the comtractors prior to commencing works simply to pay for some pavement but for a proper insurance policy to be taken out in favour of any damage made to third parties. This law should be approved by parliament in view of so much development taking place and where unfortunately the law is made to look completely powerless against these so called developers. Since our mother's accident, there have been many others and unfortunately there will be many more because the authorities simply turn a blind eye. We are still attending court proceedings for our case, a case that happened 8 and a half years ago which should have been wrapped up within days.

@James Bonavia - Yes, unfortunately we are still a third world country when it comes to civil rights, law and order. We have a do as you please state here. Authorities are there just to sit on their backsides and wait patiently for the end of the month. We are a country of noise, blaspheming, dust and dog pooh. And nobody does anything about it and that includes our politicians who are very careful not to lose votes. Five years ago, I moved to an apartment in 'triq is-saghtar, Mellieha'. In front of the apartment, is a sizeable piece of wasteland which has been taken over by a contractor to put his heavy machinery in it. I phoned Mepa, the local council, the police and God knows who else to report, obviously hoping the contractor is made to remove his equipment. At Mepa I have been told that even before me there were other complaints and orders issued for him to clear up. Up till the time I'm writing this, it's all there still. Just after the election, I wrote to Dr. Gonzi, both at home and by email. I got an acknowledgement, but that's about it. SHAME.

I totally agree with Michele Sarlo. I have badly experienced the demolition of a house next door two months after I moved into my new house, having just completed all painting and tiling in the house. I had to redo the same thing a year after due to cracks, water etc, after the contractors demolished and rebuilt the property next door. Although the contractor paid for the damage, however no one can really pay for the inconvenience, the daily dust, the pollution.....moreover the payment of damages is always based on an agreement with the contractor. When we originally insisted on a third party insurance, the contractor sent me to blazes............it seems that this is unheard of in Malta - are we still a third country when it comes to civil rights?!?.

Im sad to hear about what happened. But glad that you both are recovering well.

As to who is going to compensate you for the damage....then I must say that unless you have insurance and unless you want to spend years going to court for compensation, you are alone.....

Alex Wright, First and foremost good luck mate, first thing I would do is to stop them from selling the flats by an injunction in court.That wopuld force them to stop and listen as then you get the upper hand in all this.Get a goodlawyer and a better architecth to draw up a report .Hope your wife is OK and good luck

Dear Mr. Wright, I hope you are dealing with a cooperative developer as otherwise it is not easy to get cooperation out of a developer or his insurer - if he has one!

Unfortunately MEPA has no remit to intervene in cases of damage to neighbouring houses - Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar has been demanding that this changes ever since it was set up. Similarly the Occupational Health and Safety Authority insists that it is only responsible for accidents at the place of work. That is why no one had stepped in for Yolanda Angilleri until it hit the papers.

Why should residents have to waste time and money going to court in order to win their just compensation. Why should they have to take out court injunctions to do what is essentially MEPA's work?

The greatest insult was when the new construction site regulations were issued, they included a sum to be deposited as guarantee to cover damage to pavements, but still no steps to protect neighbours. I know it will be said that that is not an environmental issue but that is no excuse; people have a right to live at peace in their own homes!

I think it's high time that developers digging into foundations offer to pay for alternative accommodation for those households that lie adjacent to the plot in question. Safety first, and unfortunately no lessons seem to have been learnt from the incident in St.Paul's bay.

After the foundations have been laid, an inspector should be brought on site to check that the structure is safe and to verify whether the adjoining property has not been damaged by excavation works before the residents move back in.

Unfortunately developers are greedy for money and have no consideration for the safety of the residents of adjoining properties. Whilst they go home to a probably safe house and get a good night's sleep they leave neighbouring residents of construction sites wondering whether their roof will cave in and whether or not they'd live to see the next day.

Last week I saw a tower-crane cable snap after it was obviously overloaded, the cargo could have killed a worker beneath, not to mention the crane itself that swung back after the cable snapped. It almost toppled back and could have crushed a few apartments killing a few people. Where are the inspectors?

The rights - and above all - the SAFETY - of Third Parties, during and following, nearby construction works is not regulated in Malta. The OHSA washes its hands; MEPA just tells concerned people to file a case in Court! The Hon. Prime Minister and the entire Cabinet certainly know about this sad and highly dangerous state of affairs. The P.M. promised that he would address this issue. It has been suggested that Local Councils should be asked to receive complaints and concerns of citizens regarding nearby construction work. The Local councils, helped by the Department of Local Councils, would then send trained personnel to check on the reports. If there is cause for concern the Councils themselves would file Prohibutory Injunctions (Mandati, is what I believe these are called) in Court. Government needs to do something fast - before another tragedy happens. If that occurs government will in my opinion be at least partly responsible for the outcome. That is what I sincerely believe.

I would like to thank every one for the support shown to me and to my wife. I would even like to thank the police and paramedics that came to help us. I would like to even thank the neighbours that came to give us the first help even though they were exposed to danger of more slabs falling from the roof, for the support they gave my wife and to me. My wife is still in hospital while I am trying to block the nightmare from infront of my face. Maybe we should do like they do in Eastern countries?. How many times have MEPA came to check? Was the building demolished before a permit was issued? Did the fact that the building have been exposed to the elements for over a year help for this accident to happen? Will I end up like the late Ms Zarb where the building concerned was built and sold and the flat she lived in is still demolished? Who is going to compensate us for what happened to us? WHO! can any one tell me. Regards Alex

As far a I know, no excavations shall be made at less than 30 inches from the neighbours property. This is to protect property from the possibility that the underlying rock is not disturbed.

So why is this not clearly stipulated when a permit is issued and it has to be the neighbours who have to go to Court and entering into unwarranted expenses get a warrant of prohibitory injunction against the developers from digging and cutting the underlying rock less than 30 inches from their property when the law is crystal clear?

How about the authorities themselves enforcing this law and repeal any permits for any development if it is found that this provision has not been respected and if development has already been carried out dish out a very hefty fine?

After all, they will only be applying the law against law breakers

If the developer doesn't co operate I am certain that with the right attitude you can have MEPA enforcement unit clamp down on any wrong doings and stop the development.I have a first hand experience when recently I contacted them on a problem I had .
The development I had next to my house in the last year proved that with the right attitude and also knowledge has resulted in that no structural damage was done to my house and any slight damage to the finishes have been paid for by the contractor's/developers insurance

First and foremost good luck to these luckless people and may they come out of this incident better and stronger.What I can say about this all is that we are not made aware of our rights and the developer's responsibility by the authorities.Allow me to address people who have a development neighbouring their houses,
1) as soon as a development is seen to be happening check the name of the architect in charge and get an architect to contact him to do an inspection to you house to record it's condition , both structurally and the state of finishing.
Ensure that if any excavations are going to be carried out the contractor uses a trencher to cut a trench between your property and the rock which is to be excavated, this minimises the vibrations to your property.
As soon as you see any damage or movement make sure you inform the contractor and both architects , I am certain that the contractors do not want trouble and if advised immediately they would certainly help and co operate.
I believe that co operation from both parties would ensure that there is minimum trouble.

This is such a sad story and totally unnecessary if indeed the incident was caused by nearby construction. It is quite obvious that H&S regulations just don't exist in the construction industry. One only has to remember the unbelievable story of Yolanda Angileri from Sliema. Here was a 94 year old lady living in a ground floor apartment whilst the floors above her were being demolished. I understand that Yolanda never fully recovered from the trauma she had to face, which is a disgusting way to treat an elderly Maltese lady.

This also brings to mind the mad idea to excavate underneath St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta. What damage would be caused by such an action to one if not the most important buildings in the country? As John Scerri says proper supervision is imperative
.

All the people that put their comments are right.

New constructions are causing a lot of damage and pollution for the surrounding areas.

Damages are caused all the time but unfortunately the contractor can only fix the damages to the walls touching the side of construction and this is not fair. Whenever construction works are taking place cracks do develop everywhere in a house and the contractor should repair every single wall and roof.

What should be done is to make an evaluation of the affected houses before construction including photographic evidence. Then when the project has been finished all the necessary repairs must be carried out as soon as possible.

More control and inspections should be carried out in construction sites.

It is high time that Mepa / The Authorities insist that such developments are covered with a bond / surety, where and when a building similar to this is being pulled down, and which bond is forfeited immediatly and passed on to the injured parties in the case of such incidents.

This will ensure that the victims can cope financially after such incidents which are invariable caused by lack of proper care to other people's properties.

THIS WILL NOT MAKE UP FOR THE VICTIMS LOSS, BUT AT LEAST IT WILL BE A START!

Thankfully the physical injuries in this particular case are minor though the fear and mental shock to individuals is not so easily repaired or compensated for.
It appears that H&S regulations and especially those to do with construction are just constantly being totally ignored.
Presumably the victims here will now have to take legal action probably running into years and years to try and prove that the damage was caused by the new construction - where such damage is obvious it should be fast tracked with immediate compensation.
Again in this particular case it might be worth the authorities looking at the new adjacent construction site for any breach of rules. Does anyone care? The foundations have just been laid - has an adequate well been provided for this new building. Do any new buildings have wells dug? The whole industry needs better policing and enforcement.

This couple are my neighbours too. I wish both a speedy recovery.
This appears to be yet another incident arising from two building sites opposite each other hammering down into the foundations of demolished old buildings with giant jiggers , creating tremors which have adverse consequences on the adjoining old structures and even not so old.
The result of this sort of collapse - people dead and injured - remember when a block of flats collapsed killing our beloved Ms Zarb and a young foreign student . Remember how many buildings are damaged here and are not mentioned on news.
It is then up to survivors to battle for their rights in court which takes years.
It was only yesterday when concrete was cast on the adjoining site foundations where this episode occurred.
How many more people have to suffer before something serious is done?? - A large poster and building permit nailed to a wall cannot stop a building from collapsing - proper supervision is imperative. Where are the safety officers ???? Where are those who should come and inspect if works are being done according to the approved permit ????
Is there anyone accountable out there ??

@ Stefan. Yes unfortunately we have lots of these examples in Malta. I am at present afraid of this happening to us. We live in a terraced house and there is a large plot of land adjacent to our house which is going to be built up, including a basement. Who knows what will happen to our house? Furthermore, why do we have to continue building when there are tens of thousands of houses which are empty?

The injured couple happen to be my neighbours. This appears to be another construction mis-practise. The house next door was recently demolished for development and lots of damage was done to the roof. Thank God it is was a lucky escape! Unfortunately this is still a common practise in Malta.Houses being demolished everyday causing lots of damage to the adjacent houses!!!!