A small, unexploded petard, found at the Marsa golf course, could maim or severely disable, if not kill, a person handling it, the Armed Forces of Malta said yesterday.

The innocuous-looking brown package, tied with string, was among some 10 found at the golf course on Sunday morning, according to Malta Sports Club acting secretary Albert Bonello. He said hundreds of others were collected the previous weekend amid concerns that they could injure someone.

In the past two weekends fireworks were let off from near the golf course, first for the feast of St Sebastian in Qormi and last weekend for the Sta Venera feast. An investigation is under way into a fire that gutted the locker room of the Royal Malta Golf Club on July 18, as fireworks were being let off for the Qormi feast.

"If the petard does not cause a fatality, it will most certainly maim or cause permanent disability to the individual handling it," the army said after being shown a photo of the fragment and asked what injuries it could cause if it had to explode.

The club tried to block the fireworks for the Sta Venera feast but lost its legal bid with the Chief Justice admitting he was sympathetic to its cause but legally could do nothing.

An AFM spokesman said the range of injuries the kind of petard found in Marsa could cause varied according to how the explosive was handled. Moreover, unexploded fireworks or fragments could explode if moved or touched, the spokesman said, adding that there was always "a great possibility" that unexploded fireworks were set off if tampered with.

Mr Bonello said the club used a mechanised sweeper to clear the area after fireworks were let off. "You could hear them exploding inside. God forbid if they had to explode in someone's hands," he said.

The AFM explained that fireworks were designed to explode at given timings but if they failed to do so they might result in fragments, or even a whole petard, to fall to the ground. It said unexploded fragments or fireworks did not usually explode when they hit the ground but it was not excluded that they might do so.

According to fireworks regulations, the person licensed to let off fireworks is responsible for taking the necessary steps to recover and remove any fireworks that fail to ignite as well as any other material resulting from the discharge of fireworks from the area surrounding the place where fireworks are let off.

Pyrotechnics Association secretary Joe Theuma said the association harped on the importance that those who let off fireworks made sure that any unexploded fragments were removed.

Stanley Azzopardi, from Sta Venera's July 26 Fireworks committee said the enthusiasts scoured the area after letting off fireworks on Saturday evening, again on Sunday morning and for a third time on Sunday evening after letting off a second batch of fireworks. He said a number of people were stationed at the golf course while fireworks were being let off to ensure that everything ran smoothly.

Jesmond Aquilina, from Qormi's St Sebastian Fireworks Factory, said he should have been informed of any unexploded fragments found after letting off fireworks. "I would have sent someone to pick them up there and then," he said.

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