Autopsy yields no answers on cause of fireworks factory blast

The autopsy carried out on Mario Dimech, who died in the Mosta fireworks factory explosions on Friday, has not turned up any clues about what could have caused the accident.

While it was established that Mr Dimech died of a blast injury and severe burns, there were no indications as to whether he was carrying anything at the time, sources told The Times yesterday. A tissue sample of the corpse found on site was sent for DNA testing to concretely certify the body's identity, as no one was able to identify it due to severe burns, the sources added.

Mr Dimech was the only person unaccounted for after the incident, as the other 13 enthusiasts who worked at the factory were having lunch at the time of the explosion, explaining why Mr Dimech was alone on site.

The explosions have left many questions unanswered, as the work of making the fireworks had been completed and all that was left to be done was transporting them to where they were to be let off. This was considered to be one of the safer stages of production, and thus many fireworks enthusiasts were left puzzled by what could have caused the explosion.

Mr Dimech was in the storeroom at the time of the blast, according to sources. This store is lined by a "blast wall", which is much thicker and would keep blasts happening elsewhere from reaching the store. Since the explosion happened inside the blast wall, where such a large number of fireworks were stored, the blast had a more devastating impact.

Mr Dimech was described by his cousin as a perfectionist, who was very aware of the safety precautions needed when working with fireworks. "It is all a big mystery to us how this could happen to Mario, who was always obsessed with perfection," he said. Victor Caruana, an honorary member of the 15th August Society, portrayed the factory as one with high safety standards: "Inspectors enjoyed coming to the place as they would tell uswe have everything up to scratch."

On Sunday, the external feast celebrations were cancelled and the usual festivities were swapped for a sombre pilgrimage.

"The atmosphere felt like a grey cloud had descended on the community," Mr Caruana said.

The statue of St Mary was carried out of the church in a pilgrimage around the piazza, while the people recited the rosary. After the pilgrimage, the fireworks which were already set up to form part of the pyromuscial show were let off in 15 minutes and dedicated to Mr Dimech.

There was no music while the fireworks lit the sky. However, the crowd applauded and shouted

"Thank you Mario." Mr Dimech's funeral is being held this morning. A large crowd has turned up.