The Qala council is no longer willing to tolerate the danger posed by fireworks shipped from Malta to Gozo passing through the village, mayor Clint Camilleri said yesterday.

This should not fall on deaf ears again

“This situation has to be remedied by the authorities and should not fall on deaf ears again,” he said in a statement .

It was the duty of legislators to ensure there were clear regulations in place on the safe transportation of fireworks.

At the moment it is a “free for all”, he elaborated when contacted.

The Sunday Times reported that fireworks were being transported through villages with active igniters.

There is the risk that these can be triggered by accidental impact or through electromagnetic interference coming from high voltage cables, strong radio transmitters and even mobile phones.

Yesterday, Mr Camilleri said the council had received a number of complaints from residents regarding the large amounts of fireworks being transported through the village. All fireworks were unloaded at Ħondoq Ir-Rummien, which is a popular beach.

While the council does not object to fireworks being unloaded at Ħondoq for the Qala feast, it can no longer tolerate a situation where all the fireworks destined for Gozitan villages passed through the village, he said.

Two years ago the council had flagged this concern with the commission set up by the Government in 2011 to carry out a comprehensive review of fireworks accidents in the past 30 years.

The commission made a series of recommendations, which have not been implemented to date.

The mayor’s words echoed those of his deputy, Paul Buttigieg, who on Sunday said authorities should call an urgent meeting with the police and fireworks manufacturers to investigate the allegations that fireworks were transported with active igniters.

Questions sent to the police – asking if they were considering issuing permits to unload fireworks at different points in Gozo – remained unanswered by the time of going to print.