Mosta cancels external celebrations

The external celebrations of the feast of St Mary in Mosta have been cancelled in solidarity with the family of Mario Dimech, who has been confirmed dead in the August 15 Fireworks Factory explosion.

St Mary’s Parish said in a statement that an urgent meeting was held between the archpriest, the Nicolo Isouard and Sta Marija Philharmonic societies and the August 15 Pyrotechnic Society and it was unanimously decided to cancel the external festivities and continue with the liturgical celebrations in church.

These include Mass at 5.30 p.m. this evening followed by the first vespers and a solemn concelebration on Sunday at 9.15 a.m. and mass with vespers at 5.30 p.m.

In the meantime, the police and members of the Civil Protection Department are expected to continue with their search in the factory debris this morning.

The factory was destroyed in massive explosion at 3 p.m. yesterday.

The explosion sent a big mushroom shaped cloud over the area. There was utter devastation all around the site, with boulders strewn over a wide area. A frantic search immediately started for people on the site - there had been as many of 15 who were preparing fireworks to be let off today but all have been accounted for except one.