A couple who were married only last December and a 27-year-old man died in a fireworks factory explosion in Gozo yesterday. An elderly man is unaccounted for and the search for him, called off as darkness fell, is expected to continue this morning.

The blast at Ta’ Nenu Fireworks Factory, in the limits of the small village of Għarb, left two other men in a critical condition, one of them reported to have suffered 80 per cent burns.

The dead are Noel, 31, and Antoinette Farrugia, 27, from Fontana, and Jean-Pierre Azzo­pardi from Żebbuġ, Gozo. Mrs Farrugia is believed to be the first female casualty of a fireworks factory blast. Her parents left for Sicily yesterday morning.

The man who is still missing is factory owner Nenu Farrugia, Noel’s father. Raymond Farrugia, 32, another member of the Farrugia family, and Paul Micallef, 35, Nenu Farrugia’s son-in-law, were badly burnt and flown to Mater Dei Hospital for treatment.

Three explosions were heard at about 6.10 p.m. with people from all over Gozo and the northernmost parts of Malta saying they felt what seemed like an earthquake and saw a huge mushroom cloud of smoke.

The incident was the eighth fireworks explosion in the past 12 months. It brings the total number of fireworks deaths up to seven since the beginning of this year.

Second blast in five years

The fireworks that exploded yesterday, worth about €12,000, originated from the Għaxaq Fireworks Factory and were being transported by several trucks which set off on a barge to Gozo at 4 a.m. yesterday. They were being prepared for Wednesday’s feast in Xagħra.

This was the second time in five years that the fireworks factory in Għarb exploded. In 2005, eight of 10 rooms were wiped out. Luckily, no one was injured then. Only three years after the factory was rebuilt, tragedy struck again, particularly for the Farrugia family.

The Armed Forces of Malta said technicians from the Explosives Ordnance Disposal of 3 Regiment were flown by helicopter on the site of the explosion to render the area safe and assist in the search of missing individuals and in the ongoing investigations on the cause of the explosion.

People on site said the area was covered in debris, which was flung hundreds of metres away from the factory. The debris included the chassis and bumpers of various trucks.

Hours after the explosion occurred, some isolated fires could be seen and small blasts heard.

Magistrate Paul Coppini has appointed a number of experts to assist him in an inquiry into the blast.

Explosions in past 12 months

September 2009 – Explosions at Għaxaq St Joseph factory and a fireworks barge in Balluta Bay but no one was injured.

October 2009 – Explosion at Santa Maria factory in Bidnija; one man succumbs to injuries in December.

February 2010 – Two men die in an explosion at St Sebastian fireworks factory in Qormi.

April 2010 – Two escape unhurt when San Bartolomeo factory explodes in Għargħur.

May 2010 – One man dies at St Catherine’s fireworks factory in Marsaxlokk.

August 2010 – One man dies at the August 15 fireworks factory in Mosta.

September 2010 – Għarb fireworks factory explodes, three dead, one missing and two injured.

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