Compensation demanded over Ċirkewwa drowning

The heirs of a 21-year-old policeman who drowned after driving into the water off a quay at Ċirkewwa have demanded compensation from the authorities.

The father of PC Kurt Gauci, Raymond, his mother Sandra and siblings Kevin and Claire Marie filed a judicial letter before the First Hall of the Civil Court against a long list of entities, claiming they were responsible for the tragic accident.

Constable Gauci, 21, from Victoria, wanted to catch the ferry to Gozo when he drove his dark green Hyundai Accent onto the wrong quay and plunged into the sea early in the morning of December 2 last year.

The Gauci family claimed compensation from the Prime Minister, five ministers, the Attorney General, the Police Commissioner, the chairman of Gozo Channel, the mayor and councillors of Mellieħa and even the captain of the MV Ta’ Pinu, which was operating at the time of the incident.

Also brought into the judicial letter were police officers at the Mellieħa police station, the chairman and board members of Transport Malta, the Customs Comptroller as well as Polidano Group and Terracore Limited, which doing works on the Ċirkewwa terminal project. The Gauci family said the named entities were responsible for the tragic death of their son and brother because of negligence and lack of observance of basic safety rules.

It was “deplorable” that none of them had approached the family to express their “official sympathy” or offer compensation.

“There is no doubt that the plaintiffs, or any of them, are solely responsible for this fatal incident which led to the drowning of this young man who was in the prime of his life,” they said in their letter.

“We reiterate that there was no formal investigation of this incident which could have listed a number of shortcomings which could have avoided this tragic death had they been in place.”

The family called on the authorities to take criminal action against whoever was responsible for these shortcomings as well visit the site to identify these shortcomings.

They said the compensation had to include the value of the Hyundai Accent which had to be scrapped after the incident.

The family warned of further action if there was failure to come forward with a “reasonable offer” by way of compensation.

Lawyers Emy Bezzina and Maxilene Pace signed the letter.