Soldiers taking part in an exercise on the day young Gunner Matthew Psaila drowned last year had been asked whether they could swim before the exercise started, one of his colleagues said in court this morning.

Gunner Psaila drowned on February 13 during a training exercise that included wading through very cold water that at times reached depths of up to two metres.

He went under water shortly after going through a tunnel and had to be pulled out and given CPR. He died in hospital after two days in intensive care.

Lieutenant Christian Vella, 27, of Żabbar and Lance Bombardier Marvic Peregin, 31, of Pembroke stand charged with involuntary homicide and committing a crime they were in duty bound to prevent as members of the army.

Testifying this morning, Gunner Darrin Galea, who also had problems during the exercise, said that the Lt Vella had informed the soldiers they would be training in Chadwick Lakes in groups of 10 and that they would be assisted by Lance Bombardier Peregin.

They were told to get their helmets.

Once on site, soldiers were informed there was a first aider and he was introduced to them.

“I knew where we would start but not finish the course,” Gunner Galea said.

He added that the log was there to be used as a buoyancy aid and that they were asked if they could swim.

The soldiers were briefed by Lt Vella, who asked them to warm up because of the cold.

“We were not told what type of water we were going into.”

They had to swim in the second part of the exercise.

“The water was very cold. That is when the incident happened... Under the bridge, I could not turn back, I was having difficulty because of the weight I was carrying and the cold. I was carrying a helmet, webbing and a rifle.

“I could not go on, my mind could not concentrate, I did not have strength to ask for help so I put up my hand so that they could see me.”

Gunner Galea said that he later found out that Lance Bombardier Peregin and another gunner had helped him out. He said he was going above and below the water even though he knew how to swim.

“I had hypothermia. They put me in a sleeping bag to recover,” he said.

Gunner Galea said he did not know where Gunner Psaila was as he was trying to save himself.

“I was not paying attention to where my friends where. When they pulled me out of the water I could remember people shouting and saying Psaila.”

He said they did not have safety equipment in the tunnel, he did not see any safety equipment and they did not have torches so could not identify each other.

Testifying, court expert John Gera said he was asked by Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera to measure water depth and temperature at Chadwick Lakes.

He went on February 13 and measured the water inside the tunnel, just under the bridge. The depth of the water in the middle was 2.1 metres and at the bank it was 1.1 metres. The temperature was eight degrees Celcius, the air temperature six to eight.

Visibility was nil and it was impossible to see one’s hand in front of one’s face in the water. There was a lot of silt and rats were swimming around. Terrain under the tunnel was rough.

He said that the exercise had utilised logs but these were not considered part of the safety equipment.

During cross examination, defence lawyer Joseph Giglio read out the salient points of the conclusion of Mr Gera’s report which said that such training was important for soldiers but safety concerns should have been drawn up and the training should have been carried out in a controlled environment.

Dr Giglio said that the person who had to draw up the safety concerns was not the same person who had organised the training.

The case continues in February.

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