Woman recounts bomb blast horror

The bomb lowered outside the transport authority office devastated by a blast on Thursday was not seen by those inside at any point – despite the presence of a large wall to wall window.

Daniela Borg Mizzi, who was facing the window moments before the blast said she saw nothing untoward. She was close to window that morning a number of times because she left her mobile phone to charge on the sill but spotted nothing out of the ordinary.

The device must have been either lowered below the sill – about four feet from the floor – or on the side, where drawn vertical blinds would have concealed it, she said.

Police sources say this and other such details suggest that the bomber had intimate knowledge of official Konrad Pulè’s office – believed to be the intended target. Two officials were injured, one of them seriously, after the explosion.

A wire and string found at the site are pointing investigators to the conclusion that the bomber was onsite when the bomb was detonated. He is believed to have lowered the device down a three-foot space, between the back of the authority’s building and an old bastion on the side of the Sa Maison pine grove.

The bomb is thought to have been held by the wire, while the string was used to detonate the explosive. The assailant then fled the scene through the grove as the attention of police and paramedics was directed to area where the explosion wreaked its havoc.

Speaking to The Sunday Times yesterday, Ms Borg Mizzi, an executive assistant to the Malta Transport chairman, said she was still shocked and traumatised by the ordeal, explaining that only after 24 hours did the incident “really start sinking in”.

“Had the bomb gone off while I was near the window just moments earlier, it would probably have blown my head off,” she said.

“It’s like a dream... I wake up at night, I touch my hands, my legs... I went to the Madonna tal-Girgenti to thank her... because it’s a miracle, for Konrad, Josephine (Farrugia) and myself it’s a miracle, it could have had much more serious consequences.”

The blast took place at around 9.55 a.m., just 10 minutes after a meeting ended inside the targeted office.

The meeting, in which a tender was discussed, started at 8.30 a.m. and involved Mr Pulè’, the chief officer at the land transport section, his secretary Ms Farrugia, Ms Mizzi and traffic consultant major Peter Ripard, who lost part of his left leg in the blast.

Ms Mizzi sat at the head of a long boardroom table inside the office, facing the window. Mr Pulè’ and Maj. Ripard were on the sides of the table, facing each other, while Mrs Farrugia was at the chief officer’s side, closest to the window.

When the meeting ended, they all stood up. Mr Pulè went to his desk, while Maj. Ripard stood in front of his desk with his left side to the window.

“At that point Konrad and I were joking because I was meant to have Friday off and we have this joke at work that whenever I’m on leave something happens...”

She then walked to the window, unplugged her mobile phone, picked up her handbag and left, walking straight into an open lift a short distance from Mr Pulè’s office.

Seconds after she got to the first floor, the bomb went off. Luckily, Ms Farrugia had also left the office by this time.

“I seemed to have sensed it was a bomb. I started running, grabbed the girls and was shouting: it’s a bomb run out,” Ms Borg Mizzi said.

Once outside, a heavy smell of “gas” made employees suspect it might have been an explosion in the air-conditioning unit.

“There was a lot of dust, heavy air, and a strong smell of gas.”

Soon, it became apparent it was a bomb. Inside, two employees, one of them a volunteer fireman, gave Maj. Ripard first aid. He was conscious at the time and it was clear that his leg had been seriously injured by the blast.

Though in shock, Mr Pulè’ got away with a few cuts and bruises.

The bombing, the first such attack on a government entity, left the employees traumatised. “We don’t know why this happened because everyone was just doing his job and that’s it,” Ms Borg Mizzi said, echoing the comments of Mr Pulè’s father, Vanni, who said his son could not even begin to imagine that anybody would want to hurt him so much.

However, Ms Borg Mizzi insisted, there is a feeling of solidarity among employees, despite the fear.

Meanwhile, Maj. Ripard is still recovering at the intensive care unit but was reported by Ms Borg Mizzi to be in good spirits.

“He’s a very strong man,” she said. “I can’t rub my toes together anymore, he said to me... Then he wanted to know what happened to the notes he had in that room, and said don’t worry. Yes, on the whole I think he handled it very well.”