Initial tests on the turtle nest in Ġnejna show that the embryos had died before fully developing, disappointing all those who had been holding their breath for the moment the turtles hatched and scurried to the sea.

All the 79 eggs the loggerhead turtle laid 11 weeks ago had been fertilised. Although the cause of death has not yet been established, Nature Trust president Vince Attard believes it could have been caused by the torrential rain that flooded the island at the beginning of the week.

The nest has been a major attraction since the turtle lumbered on to the sand two metres away from the water’s edge, amid camera flashes and jubilant onlookers.

For the past 79 days, everyone had been on the alert to switch off their lights and engines should the eggs crack open and the entire area on the popular beach had been cordoned off.

The environment authority even issued an emergency conservation order prohibiting activities like barbecues, camping and loud music as these could disturb the turtle eggs. The eggs had been relocated from where the turtle originally laid them because they were too close to the sea and risked being washed away if the water became rough. In fact, the original nesting area was completely submerged under water two days after the turtle laid the eggs.

Relocating the eggs is quite common in other parts of the world and, in 50 per cent of the cases in Lampedusa, nests are relocated. In this case, the relocation was carried out by three experts in the first 12-hour window period.

Mr Attard said that since the embryos were quite developed, this meant the relocation had not caused any damage to the eggs. The average incubation period for a marine turtle’s nest is 60 days but in this case hope was the last to die, as some held on to the knowledge that later hatchings have also been recorded.

However, the 11-week protection period stipulated by the planning authority expired yesterday and the nest was dug up in the morning.

Initial investigations on the eggs show that the embryos died at a late development stage, probably because of a limited intake of air as a result of a number of natural factors.

The layer of blue clay below the sand retained a lot of water under the nest and the eggs in the bottom layer absorbed the water which, in turn, asphyxiated the embryos developing inside it.

The nesting chamber was also deprived of air because of the accumulated high humidity and water saturation.

A sample of the embryos will be sent to an international laboratory for DNA testing.

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