The Għarb fireworks factory that exploded last Sunday afternoon, killing four people, should not have been open at the time of the blast.

According to the factory’s 2003 planning permit, the factory could only open for three hours in the morning on Sundays, between 7 and 10am. Nobody was allowed on the factory grounds when it was closed.

Last Sunday’s explosions happened between 2.40 and 3.30 pm, some five hours after the Qalb ta’ Ġesù (Sacred Heart) factory should have been closed for the day.

The area where the incident happened is a nature trail popular with hikers and families. Fortunately, nobody was close to the factory at the time of the explosion.

The factory’s 2003 permit clearly stipulated its opening and closing times for both winter and summer. Work was permitted for most of the day on weekdays but was significantly limited on weekends, with Sunday opening hours confined to the three-hour window.

Rescuers were already on site last Sunday when the third blast roared across the Gozitan horizon. They subsequently discovered the bodies of factory owner George Gatt, Peppi Cini, Mario Gauci and Brian Portelli among the rubble.

The explosion was Għarb’s second fireworks-related tragedy in two years. A September 2010 explosion at the village’s Farrugia Brothers factory had left six people, including the factory owner and his two sons, dead. That also occurred on a Sunday.

Just two months after that incident, Għarb residents voted to prohibit any further fireworks factories in the village, in a referendum organised by their local council.

Għarb mayor David Apap yesterday told The Times the council had been one of the key objectors to the Qalb ta’ Ġesù factory being granted a permit back in 2003.

“The council had objected because it felt the factory posed a danger to residents, especially given that there’s St Dimitri chapel around 120 metres away,” he said.

Had the explosion happened a week earlier, the human toll would have been much greater, Mr Apap argued.

St Dimitri’s name day falls on October 26, and that weekend several residents had milled inside and around the chapel in celebration.

“There were some stalls and events going on, and the area was fairly busy in general. Thank goodness it wasn’t anywhere near as busy last Sunday,” the mayor said.

Għarb’s council is set to discuss the Qalb ta’ Ġesù blast during a council meeting scheduled for later this week.