Update 3: Man critical after falling down well

Devin Mizzi

Oct 22nd 2010, 15:37

Haven't the media learnt yet that our ambulances are not manned with paramedics but with well trained and very capable NURSES?

Y. Sammut

Oct 21st 2010, 17:08

It appears to have escaped the attention of most that a fridge was once evidently covering the hole, but that its back must have rusted away and it evidently gave way when this man stepped inside the fridge. He must have had a good reason for doing so, but it proved his undoing.

A.Attard

Oct 21st 2010, 14:01

something for those always thinking of Annimals before humans.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1321999/Toddler-nearly-loses-eye-mauled-family-terrier.html?ITO=1490

I am a dog lover but everthing has got its limitations
thanks

Anthony Borg (H'Attard)

Oct 21st 2010, 12:23

Mr.Steve Borg, sadly you are correct. Wherever you trod on this beautiful, blessed Island, discarded rubbish is the order of the day. Lovely Buskett is often strewn with left-overs and plastic bottles, despite the many, some new, bins erected along pathways. Even ta' Qali close to where I live, is a dumping ground from all citizens, NSEW.

But this is beside the point of this blog.
The important thing is that this unfortunate gentleman survives this fall. I hope proper action is taken against the landowner. Being private does not mean leaving holes in the ground improperly covered.

Fabian Mizzi

Oct 21st 2010, 12:21

Whilst wishing Mr Apap a speedy recovery, we wish to clarify that the area
in question is not within the boundaries of Hal Gharghur Local Council.

Fabian Mizzi
Acting Executive Secretary

Steve Borg

Oct 21st 2010, 10:06

We are always given the impression that it is the residents living in the south of the island that are backwards and discard of domestic waste and other trash in the open countryside or waysides of arable land. We have even read it ad nauseam by some notorious bloggers who presume that they are God's gift to Malta.

Had Għargħur been close to Żejtun, Bormla or Żurrieq we would have had the moaning brigade all out in full force to slag us with their vitriol.

Hope that Mr. Apap recovers from this freak accident that could have easily been avoided if we hadn't so many inconsiderate fellow citizens.

Steve Borg - Marsascala

alfred grima

Oct 21st 2010, 09:37

Prosit to all involved in the rescue, job well done.
Hope Mr. Apap recovers soon.
One question that i wish to ask.
WHICH MOBILE PROVIDER WAS HE USING?

Michael Borg

Oct 21st 2010, 09:26

Imagine yourself in his position Cameras flashes etc you would like it ??? i see it really unfair to take photos and videos of victims or injured persons just imagine yourself instead of him !!!

RSpiteri

Oct 21st 2010, 08:37

Is the rubbish going to be cleaned up at least??

or is it:
Man lost
man found
everybody goes home happy with no lesson learnt.

Typical no??

Anthony Borg

Oct 21st 2010, 08:32

Perhaps the Gharghur Local Council can enlighten us all here as to whether this was a private field and properly marked so. There are so many seemingly derelict areas in Malta that one has to be very careful due to the negligence of others.

But even if this was private land, a well (or deep hole in the ground) is surely a manifest danger to both humans and animals. As I said previously, what if children wandered in that area....I think that the local council should look into this matter and give further details

Morgan Debattista

Oct 21st 2010, 08:24

Am so sorry for Mr Apap, hope he gets well soon, we will pray for him so that he gest better. Thank God he had the mobile phone with him.
However i would really like to know what happened to the poor dog.. is he injured and is he still alive??

J Galea

Oct 21st 2010, 07:53

How come the emergency services do not have the facility to trace the call to the exact location from where it came?

Pule' Carmel

Oct 21st 2010, 00:20

Why is it that we always thank the usual people who are visible like ," firemen, paramedics (not to mention hospital staff and doctors) and policemen."?
MAY I PERSONALLY THANK MY COLLEAGUES THE ENGINEERS, WHO ENSURED THAT THE MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK WAS WORKING, THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO DESIGNED AND MADE THE MOBILE RADIOS, THANKS TO ALL THOSE ENGINEERS WHO MADE THE TRANSPORT VEHICLES FOR THE FIREMEN, THE DESIGNERS AND MANUFACTURERS OF SURGICAL TOOLS FOR THE PARAMEDICS, THAT LIGHT AND PORTABLE LADDER SEEN IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS TOGETHER WITH THE SPECIAL STRAPPED STRETCHER AND THE PULLEY ARRANGEMENT TO LIFT THE POOR MAN OUT OF THE NARROW HOLE AND THE PROTECTION CLOTHING FOR THE FIREMEN AND THE PROTECTION HAT FOR THE FIREMEN SO THAT THEY ARE SAFE IN THEIR WORK.Also while I also thank all the engineers who manufactured all those items which finished up as rubbish on that field, I would condemn all those people who used the utilities and then thrown the packings etc as rubbish in a field instead of disposing them in the proper EngineeringManner.
SoProsit to all firemen, paramedics (not to mention hospital staff and doctors) and policemen who made good use of equipment designed by usENGINEERS,

Jesmond Micallef

Oct 20th 2010, 23:35

I sincerely hope this man fully recovers from his injuries sustained in this very unfortunate incident. The staff at Mater Dei will do their very best here no doubt. Once again, well done to the CPD personnel on this rescue. These people do a great job indeed and we are all very proud of them. God bless you all.

Jackie Dalli

Oct 20th 2010, 23:20

I heard many times that the puteal, the rectangular or circular stone frame round the top of a well k/a 'il-herza' have gone missing in many places where fields are located which makes it perilous to civilians. I think the local councils should assess their areas to avoid such accidents. Wishing a speedy recovery to Mr Apap and thumbs up to the CPD.

Ronnie Gauci

Oct 20th 2010, 23:11

Xi hadd responsabbli bilfors ghandu jkun hawn f'dan l-accident, min kien tant ghazzien u ghala biebu li l-bir hallih f'dan l-istat issa ghandu jkun ragel bizzejjed li jhallas ta` ghemielu.

Nghid prosit lil The Times of Malta ghar-rappurtagg professjonali li qed jaghtuna.

Michael Vella

Oct 20th 2010, 22:52

What can i say, i have so much respect for our rescue services who are always ready to put their own lives at risk to save another person's life. They deserve our respect and they surely have mine. I have been fortunate (or unfirtunate) enough to have seen these guys working first hand some years back and I commend them for their professional work. They save people's lives, putting their own at risk on a daily basis and deserve the respect of all Maltese people. And this includes firemen, paramedics (not to mention hospital staff and doctors) and policemen.

I sincerely hope this man fully recovers from his injuries and lives on to be able to thank the rescuers for saving hid life. May God keep them safe and bless them all!

Kevin Camilleri

Oct 20th 2010, 22:44

Wells generaly are found in private fields. If a field is private, one shouldn't go in it with a dog, use the normal countryside roads. However, looking at all that rubbish, I cannot see someone littering his own field. Hence it is the Local Council's obligation to make sure that that sort of rubbish is cleaned up and any hazard is removed, or covered in case of open wells. My family have number of fields, and I know how hazardous these wells are, since generally they are used for irrigation and do not have any safety walls around them. One has to be extra carefull when walking in the countryside, especially in countryside you are not particularly familiar with.

Alexander Barbara

Oct 20th 2010, 21:59

"The well, in a field, was partly covered by rubbish." .....for a change

axuereb

Oct 20th 2010, 21:55

First of all I wish the man a speedy and full recovery. Secondly I hope the authorities or owner of this well see to it that it is properly covered so that this incident is not repeated.

Deo Catania

Oct 20th 2010, 21:10

where is that place? all that rubbish is disgusting, the police/local council should investigate but I doubt anyone will bother.

spiteri

Oct 20th 2010, 21:05

Can't Gharghur local council take steps to clear an illegal rubbish dump ?

A Cassar

Oct 20th 2010, 20:58

With all the rubbish found on site no wonder the man fell in.....especially if it was partially hidden. What if it were children or even if the guy's mobile was broken in the fall?hope the authorities wakes up and clean the mess or better still- launch a campaign against the other ugly side of illegal dumping...hidden dangers of wells!!

Joseph Schembri

Oct 20th 2010, 20:19

As far as I know, its the owner's responsibility to build a wall around the well, in order to prevent such incidents or worse.

Peter Phillips

Oct 20th 2010, 19:51

Whilst very happy that the man had is mobile with him and was rescued I am appalled that the opening was left uncovered and at the amount of rubbish scattered around the well. Very little of it appears to relate to the rescue itself as most looks to be there as a result of fly tipping. This certainly does not show Malta in a very good light.

Darren Buttigieg

Oct 20th 2010, 19:30

"The well, in a field, was partly covered by rubbish"

Partly??? From the picture (assuming most of those items were not related to the rescue) that field looks like a dump. What a disgrace

Chris Finch

Oct 20th 2010, 19:12

Well done to the CPD. They deserve a medal just for going in that filthy field.

Whoever left this mess should be ashamed of themselves. Obviously they have no pride in Malta. If they did they wouldn't leave it in such a state.

M. Fenech

Oct 20th 2010, 19:09

This is a very nice picture to promote the enviromental state of this island. Well done!! Wish a speed recovery to the injured person.

Paul Barrett

Oct 20th 2010, 19:08

Well done to the rescue team.

As an aside, why oh why do people continue to dump rubbish all over the place. There really is no excuse as there are more than adequate facilities (skips, house collection and proper disposal sites) available. The efforts of many are destroyed by the few that have the thoughtless mentality of animals.

P.Delia

Oct 20th 2010, 19:01

The picture seems to depict the aftermath of a tornado. Wish this man a speedy recovery.

W. Azzopardi

Oct 20th 2010, 18:58

there are numerous wells and reservoirs all over the maltese islands which are not properly covered and are very dangerous to humans and animals alike. I am sure there is a law against this, but is it being enforced?

Miguel Micallef

Oct 20th 2010, 18:51

Nice surroundings and environment.

Stefan micallef

Oct 20th 2010, 18:41

Me and my father were hunting there this evening when suddenly alot of police came seaching the fields so we went to give our help but they had already found the man.

That well was very well hidden in the rubbish.Even my father and his freind that know this area well didnt know that it was there!

Eric Camilleri

Oct 20th 2010, 18:27

"presence of mind to call for help using his mobile phone".
No he was lucky to have a mobile phone as otherwise he would have probably died a miserable death on site. Incidents like this send shivers down my spine at the thought of a helpless child or person falling in such death traps.
Well done to the rescuers.

T Mifsud

Oct 20th 2010, 18:14

Well done to the CPD!

Anthony Borg

Oct 20th 2010, 18:12

Can the proper authorities advise the general public:
1. Where is this dangerous, hidden well located so that the same incident is not repeated.
2. Was this partly covered well on public land, in a field, where....? It could easily had been a small child without a cellphone who fell there.