DNA tests results expected on Monday

The results of the DNA tests required to secure a positive identification of two of the six victims of the Għarb fireworks factory blast will are expected on Monday, The Times has learnt.

The tests were commissioned by the authorities after the bodies of Noel Farrugia, 31, of Fontana and Jean-Pierre Azzopardi, 27, of Xewkija could not be identified during the post-mortem carried out on Thursday.

The men died in a massive blast that flattened the Farrugia Brothers Fireworks Factory on Sunday evening. The explosion killed an entire family from Fontana: owner Nenu Farrugia, 67, his two sons Noel and Raymond, 32, daughter-in-law Antinette, 27 and son-in-law Peter Paul Micallef, 35. Mr Azzopardi was a family friend.

The Farrugia family had planned to hold a collective funeral today in Fontana and Mr Azzopardi’s burial was originally meant to take place yesterday in Xewkija.

However, the funerals had to be postponed pending the arrival of the DNA results.

The remains of Mr Azzopardi and Mr Farrugia could not be identified due to the severity of the burns. Together with Mrs Farrugia, they were thought to have been closest to the site where the first of three explosions occurred.