The couple who had a close brush with fate after the roof of their St Paul's Bay residence partially collapsed are blaming demolition works next door, an accusation the contractor is flatly denying.
Alex Wright, 51, was on the roof applying cement to prevent rainwater from leaking through cracks when the accident happened on Sunday.
He told The Times that, suddenly, the floor under his feet caved in and crashed into the small hall below. He managed to cling to the wall, slightly hurting his neck and back, but his wife Pat, 52, was not so lucky.
Mrs Wright happened to be in the hall at the time and one of the stone slabs grazed her head and shoulder, before landing on her right ankle causing multiple fractures. She was yesterday undergoing an operation.
"As I was hanging from the wall I heard my wife shouting for help. When I managed to get back on the roof and looked down, I saw her buried under the debris from her waist down and crying in pain," Mr Wright recalled.
Neighbours, who heard a loud noise and the cries for help, rushed to assist the Wrights. Mr Wright had words of praise for his neighbours, the police and the Civil Protection Department for their prompt assistance.
Mr Wright, who lives in Floriana, uses the premises, consisting of two rooms, the small hall and a garden, where he keeps his boat.
An inventory officer at Mcast, Corradino, Mr Wright is insisting the trouble began soon after the demolition works began and water started seeping into his premises.
Clearly upset by the incident, Mr Wright said he had highlighted the problems to the contractor on various occasions.
However, the contractor, Alan Farrugia, who is also the owner of the new site, denied any responsibility when contacted.
When asked whether the incident was a consequence of the excavation works next door, Mr Farrugia said the roof collapse and works were unrelated.
What happened, he said, was that the roof slabs gave way when Mr Wright walked on them. He said he had nothing to do with the roof.
Mr Farrugia said the fissures, which Mr Wright said had appeared on the wall and on the floor as a result of the works, will be checked by his architect.
Last Sunday's incident is the latest in a string of incidents of people insisting that their residences had suffered damages as a result of construction works on the foundations of adjacent buildings.
In June 2004, a building in Ramon Perellos Street, St Paul's Bay, collapsed killing Mary Zarb, a 60-year-old retired and widowed teacher, and Russian interpreter Nadya Vavilova, 24, who was attending a lesson in Maltese at Ms Zarb's flat at the time of the incident.
The building was situated next to a plot were excavation works were in progress to lay the foundations for a new building.
Rita Vella, an elderly woman, died after she was buried under the rubble of her house in similar circumstances in Sliema in April 2000.
The house in Cathedral Street also stood next to a building plot where excavation works were in hand.