A 47-year-old fireworks enthusiast suffered serious burns to his right arm on Sunday when a petard accidentally went off prematurely during the Għaxaq feast of St Joseph.

George Farrugia, who has been working in the fireworks sector for over 20 years, was taken to hospital where he was immediately operated upon Sunday evening.

His friend, Reno Busuttil, told Times of Malta that the operation had been successful and Mr Farrugia was recovering well.

Mr Busuttil, who is the secretary of the St Joseph Band Club, explained that the accident happened just after 9.30pm – towards the end of the celebrations – when Mr Farrugia was about to fire a six-inch petard known as ballun.

For such a petard to be fired it has to be first inserted into a pipe-like compartment that is used several times throughout an event. As Mr Farrugia inserted the new petard into the pipe, it accidentally ignited before he could remove his arm from the line of fire.

He suffered serious burns to his right arm and was rushed to hospital where he was operated upon. Following the accident the rest of the celebrations, including the Sunday night band march and yesterday’s celebrations, were cancelled.

Mr Busuttil added that Mr Farrugia had a licence to work with fireworks.