Claudia Calleja
Qormi blast victim had clerk exam yesterday
'A chain of experience and enthusiasm'
Damian Agius carried shoulder high during the St Sebastian feast (left) and Fredu Stellini.
The 21-year-old man who died in the Qormi fireworks' factory explosion on Monday evening was yesterday meant to sit for his government clerk examination.
Damian Agius was working as a temporary clerk at the law courts with Magistrate Saviour Demicoli and wanted to sit for the exam to get a full-time post, explained his friend Ray Abdilla.
"When I met him in court on Monday morning he told me he really hoped he would do well in the exam because he wanted to work as a full-time clerk at the law courts," Mr Abdilla, a court reporter for the media organisation Medialink, said.
Mr Abdilla said he was shocked to learn Mr Agius was one of the two victims of the Qormi blast.
Mr Agius, an avid fireworks enthusiast, and his fireworks "mentor" Fredu Stellini, 56, both died in the explosion that occurred at the St Sebastian fireworks factory at about 6.15 p.m.
Their bodies were found at about midnight underneath the concrete roof of the room they were working in.
Mr Stellini was an experienced fireworks' enthusiast who was working together with Mr Agius, a spokesman for the St Sebastian Youth Committee said.
The two worked as a team to prepare the fireworks for the feast of St Sebastian in July and for the St Publius ground fireworks festival in Floriana.
Mr Agius, the second of three brothers, had a passion for ground fireworks and for the feast of St Sebastian. On his Facebook page, he listed his religious views as "Bastjaniż". He also formed part of the Malta Fireworks' Lovers Hi5 group.
"Damian's love for fireworks and St Sebastian was obvious. He'd speak about them to anyone he met, even for the first time," his friend Ruth Zammit said.
She described him as a quiet boy who was not a typical 20-year-old because fireworks were a priority in his life.
Committee representative James Piscopo said Mr Agius was very active in the organisation of the St Sebastian feast.
"He helped out in the fireworks, street decorations, bell ringing and, particularly, within the youth committee itself, of which he was deputy chairman for some time. He was also a close follower of Qormi football club," he said.
The young man had a fireworks licence and was working towards upgrading it with the help of Mr Stellini, a committee spokesman said.
Mr Stellini, a father of three, had been working at the fireworks factory for about 20 years. He worked on an oil rig in India, so was away from the island for months at a time. But he always returned to the factory when in Malta. Mr Piscopo said Mr Agius, who used to be called Djamant (diamond), had good prospects in the manufacture of ground fireworks.
Mr Stellini, on the other hand, was a family man and an expert in the production of fireworks.
"We were sure this chain of experience and enthusiasm would have yielded good results... The Lord wanted to summon them early to enjoy their spectacle well before the ground fireworks festival," Mr Piscopo said.
The commission thanked the two men for their generosity and for the passion they had for the feast of St Sebastian. Various parish organisations also expressed solidarity with the victims' families. These included the St George parish representatives.
The funeral Mass will be held today at St Sebastian church at 3 p.m. It will be followed by a funeral cortege accompanied by the St Sebastian band.
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Joe Fenech
Feb 26th 2010, 23:40
Joseph A Borg :
Nice romantic account. One may live a life of risks and passions, but sometimes at the risk of leaving families behind.
As to the live noisy...no thanks. In fact, it is reason enough to live away from Malta. Only selfishness makes us crave such a life style.
Joe Xuereb
Feb 26th 2010, 23:39
@ Joseph A. Borg. Before you wax lyrical about a hero of mine, Alexander the Great was the product of a pushy father and a mother heavily into the occult. He grew up tough and reckless, anxious to please his parents. Greatness set in early and a touch of madness to no doubt. This conflict explains his mastery of manoeuvring tactics, his confused sexual orientation which he tried to overcome through drug addiction and alcohol. He was dead before his middle thirties. It is often said that addiction, here in Malta often referred to as a namra, a passion, kills (indiscriminate sexual activity > AIDS, alcohol > cirrhosis of the liver, drugs > fatal overdoses and extreme sports > early death). You may think there is no justifiable connection between drug-abuse and skiing. In fact if the passion is so great that in their practitioner they manage to distort other aspects of one's life, then there is no difference between one passion and another. I really regret the death of these two men. But what I've tried to explain applies to all (sorry, I forgot to mention cigarette smoking, a great passion, a prop to too many still).
Roger Attard
Feb 25th 2010, 20:09
Jien persuna li nattendi spiss il-Qorti fuq qadi ta'dmirijieti. L-ghada tal-incident kont qed nara l-ahbarijiet u mill-ewwel gharaft lil Damien,guvnott kwiet hafna. Kont narah spiss fl-inhawi fejn kont nahdem u tinduna kemm kien guvnott bil-ghaqal. Ghalkemm ma tantx kont inkellmu fl-Awla kien jidher li hu tifel O.K. Il-kondoljanzi tieghu lill-familja tieghu.
Jesmond Micallef
Feb 25th 2010, 19:21
Joseph A Borg, good one, definitely count me in !!!
Joseph A Borg
Feb 25th 2010, 17:41
two cheers for all those who dare, for those who want to think different, for those who follow their dreams! Two cheers for those who take risks, for those who make life worth while and noisy and exciting. And more so to their mentors, to those that show the way. I'm going to be soppy and grandiloquent but Alexander the Great wouldn't have been so great if his father didn't create the army for him or Aristotle be his mentor… Alas many times things fizzle out but we continue to strive. two cheers for life lived with passion!
Fontaine Pace
Feb 24th 2010, 19:18
Thankyou pips and thankyou dimond you ll never be forgotten from our hearts we will miss you everyday and now am sure your in a better place near saint sebastian .
S Atlamyob
Feb 24th 2010, 19:00
My sentiments go with the victims and all their loved ones.
S Atlamyob
Feb 24th 2010, 18:58
@J Micallef, Any nation whose political and economic engine is driven by over enthusiastic religious beliefs of any kind is in actuality a "third world country".
Properly supervised fireworks/festivals could be an asset to Malta. She has some of the finest visual displays that I have ever witnessed.
This being said though, our out of control and unregulated fanaticism for the feasts and extremely noisy fireworks/displays has lead to extremely high numbers of casualties, property damage, and is one of the most significant deterrents to badly needed tourism and international commerce.
Accordingly, I'd be very surprised if Malta's fireworks manufacturers and victims have ever graduated from an internationally recognized series of pyrotechnics courses, or had any in-depth explosives training by any recognized explosives experts such as the military...
Our third world attitude regarding our religious feasts, fireworks/explosives, construction, policing, clean-energy, environment, cigarettes are literally time bombs set to go off.
How many of us are planning on going to Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Palestine, or Pakistan for the summer holidays this year and if not why not?
Much of the World view Malta the same way. "If it waddles, quacks, and acts like a duck, it’s probably is a duck.
C Buttigieg
Feb 24th 2010, 17:52
@Peter Green. I want to first point out that I am no way a fireworks enthusiast, I wouldn't even walk past a fireworks factory if you paid me. However this is not just about fireworks. These people have a passion for what they do and they are prepared to take the risk. It is the same risk as sky diving, scuba diving, car racing and many other dangerous things that we love to do. Although safety is a key factor, it is not always enough to prevent tragedy as we have witnessed with this accident. No matter how many safety precautions and lectures you attend nothing will help you if your parachute or your diving equipment fails when you are at 40 meters below the sea. I knew Alfred from when he was working on the Oil Rigs in Libya and when we discussed manufacturing fireworks he told me that it is his greatest passion and a part of him that he will never give up. While we see it as a tragedy, he might be happy that he passed away doing what he loved most for his beloved feast and patron saint. Who are we to question it?
Jesmond Micallef
Feb 24th 2010, 15:45
Peter Green, Whilst appreciating your "mentioning" of Safety here, I do have to ask : What exactly and precisely do you mean ? You have mentioned people "blowing themselves up to bits for Religion" and "3rd. world countries" !! Your use of the word "WE" seems to be suggesting a collective of some sort !! Are you a chairperson of a network or association of some sort ?
Mark Edward Mifsud
Feb 24th 2010, 13:28
Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine :
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
In memoria æterna erit justus,
ab auditione mala non timebit.
God bless there families. You are in our prayers.
Peter Green
Feb 24th 2010, 12:50
It is amazing that nobody raises the issue of fireworks safety even though fireworks people are dying each year. Should we keep having people blown up to bits for religion like what happens in other 3rd world countries?