Cospicua residents file more compensation claims with council

Cospicua residents this morning replied to their council’s invitation to submit compensation claims for damages suffered in this week’s power surge caused by the theft of copper cables from a substation with 40 picking application forms and submitting them there and then.

Others are expected to be submitting them later. Another 50 had already reported their losses to the police.

This morning’s meeting at the council was emotional for some who burst into tears saying they were still paying the loans they took out to buy some of the equipment they lost.

Others were elderly or had social problems, mayor Joseph Scerri said.

The damages suffered ranged from household appliances to a whole bedroom, which caught fire when a television set exploded. A printing press was also heavily damaged.

Residents blamed the housing authorities for some of the damages as they claimed that some houses did not even have their electricity supply earthed so they could not have prevented any damage.

They also blamed Enemalta saying substations should be better protected against intrusions. Others called for more police patrols.

The council has given residents a week to forward their claims. It will then evaluate them with the help of a lawyer after which they would be submitted to the authorities.